“Free” is expensive (even Seneca knew that)

It’s tempting to take things that are “free.” Facebook is one such free product that is pretty darn good. But, free things are actually quite expensive.

If you aren’t paying for something with money, you’re paying for it in some other way. You pay with your time, your attention, and the opportunity costs: What could you have done otherwise with that time and attention?

The economies of scale that technology provides makes this especially true today. The burden of “paying” can be spread across a larger group of people, which can in turn afford a more sophisticated product, which can in turn attract even more people.

But, it’s not necessarily new. Nearly 2000 years ago, Seneca wrote:

Our stupidity may be clearly proved by the fact that we hold that “buying” refers only to the objects for which we pay cash, and we regard as free gifts the things for which we spend our very selves….we are eager to attain them at the cost of anxiety, of danger, and of lost honour, personal freedom, and time; so true it is that each man regards nothing as cheaper than himself…