Facebook and Google as Regrettable Necessities

The following article considers the results from two different studies, a European one involving over 20,000 respondents and an American one closing on 1,000, to illustrate how online platforms such as Facebook and Google can be defined as regrettable necessities. We define regrettable necessities as those whose consumption provides a direct disutility to consumers. That is, other than the standard utility derived from the access to a given service, a direct disutility in terms of privacy losses and preference manipulation results from their use. In addition, users acknowledge this fact and are aware of the disutility suffered, though not necessarily of its intensity, highlighting the fundamental strategic role played by these platforms in current voting environments.