Advertising on Social Media: The Reality behind the Ideology of “Free Access”: The Case of Chinese Social Media Platforms

Media are almost ubiquitous due to the mediatization of society and, in particular, the development of the internet. The changes the internet and social media have brought to our life are obvious, as is the increased likelihood of encountering advertising. Whenever you use platforms such as Google or Baidu you can see advertisements at the top or on the side of your screen. You can receive promotional emails from retailers all year round. Similarly, some video adverts pop up when you pause the clips you are watching on YouTube or Youku. We, as users, are exposed to a large number of targeted advertisements on the internet (Figure 8.1).