But, like so many things in this world, if you ask ‘why is this a thing?’ the answer is almost always ‘idiots exist.’ A handful of idiots DO click on ads and buy the products, download the malware, etc. It’s not much but the 30 real people lend legitimacy to the 970 ‘totally real people’ who ‘totally clicked on the ad but just didn’t buy anything’ according to the metrics, and it’s seemingly impossible to sell anything without paying rent to the marketers because it’s essentially analogous to nuclear arms; if no one had it, everyone would be happier, healthier, and safer, but if they have it and you don’t, you lose.
There are ads on Lemmy? I’ve never seen one.
But, like so many things in this world, if you ask ‘why is this a thing?’ the answer is almost always ‘idiots exist.’ A handful of idiots DO click on ads and buy the products, download the malware, etc. It’s not much but the 30 real people lend legitimacy to the 970 ‘totally real people’ who ‘totally clicked on the ad but just didn’t buy anything’ according to the metrics, and it’s seemingly impossible to sell anything without paying rent to the marketers because it’s essentially analogous to nuclear arms; if no one had it, everyone would be happier, healthier, and safer, but if they have it and you don’t, you lose.