May 9, 2017 - Bydgoszcz, Poland - Snapchat and Facebook startup screens are seen displayed on various devices on 10 May, 2017. (Credit Image: © Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press) Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press/dpa
The data scientist Jeff Hammerbacher, one of Facebook's early employees, lamented years ago that "the best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads."
Social media companies succeeded in part by gathering as much information as possible about their users, so that ads could be micro-targeted as never before. It was suddenly much easier to reach and influence almost any kind of person – vegan weightlifters, estate lawyers with corgis.
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