The Price of Free

I. The Lesson

Once upon a time there was a small boy who learned a wise lesson from his grandfather. Grandfather told him that nothing in this world is free. The boy always received everything from Grandfather and from his parents, so he did not understand the lesson at that time.

Every birthday brought gifts. Every wish was granted. Every need was met without question. The boy smiled and thanked them, but the words his grandfather spoke seemed like riddles without answers. "Nothing is free," the old man would repeat, his eyes holding a knowledge the boy could not yet grasp.

II. The Awakening

Years passed, and the boy became a teenager. The world had changed. Everyone lived behind glowing screens, sharing their lives in an endless stream of images and words. The platforms promised connection, friendship, and expression—all without asking for a single coin.

The teenager joined them all. He posted photos, shared thoughts, clicked and scrolled through endless feeds. It felt harmless, even joyful. Until the day a private photo leaked. A moment meant for trusted eyes spread like wildfire through his school. The laughter echoed in hallways. The whispers followed him home.

He became a target. What he had freely given to the platforms—his image, his moments, his trust—had been used against him. The services were free, he had thought. But now he understood: he had paid with something far more valuable than money.

III. The Truth

Now grown, the man finally understood his grandfather's wisdom. Nothing on the internet is free. When you do not pay with money, you pay with your data. Every click, every post, every search—collected, analyzed, and sold. Your attention becomes their profit. Your privacy becomes their product.

The platforms offer their services without charge because you are not the customer. You are the commodity. Your data fuels algorithms. Your behavior predicts markets. Your personal moments become training material for machines that will never forget what you wish you could erase.

The grandfather's words finally made sense: "Nothing is free." Every gift demands a price. Sometimes that price is paid in currency. But more often, in this digital age, it is paid in privacy, in autonomy, in the very essence of who you are.