What’s it worth to use Facebook? It depends

Google and Facebook have announced plans to combat the problem of false news through restrictions on advertising. (Aleksey Boldin/Dreamstime/TNS)

People do not, of course, have to pay to use Facebook. It’s free. The company’s revenues come mostly from advertising.  

But in light of recent controversies, there have been discussions, at least outside of Facebook, about changing the business model. What if people had to pay to use it? How much would they be willing to spend? Any answers would tell us something important about the value of social media in general.