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Social media can be extremely useful as an asset for teaching and learning, to the extent that many universities have now approved their own policies or guidelines aimed at helping educators embed the use of these tools into their practice (see for example Coventry University’s Social Media Staff guidelines).

However, beyond convenience, it is essential to take into account a wider range of implications. In this regard, it is important that learners understand what they are giving away when using “for-free” online service offered by organisations that are driven by certain objectives – most often monetising the activity of their users or finding a way to do so.

Many online services do not require paying a fee, at least for access to basic functionalities, despite belonging to for-profit corporations whose ultimate aim is to monetise the online behaviour of users. On the contrary, they tend to run on business models that involve third party organisations paying for the delivery of ads targeted at specific groups of users.

The overall logic of this is not new at all, as it is similar to the way in which some traditional media (e.g. TV networks) have generated revenue in the past. However, online platforms gather a much wider range of data on those engaging with them. An important implication of online media use is the wealth of digital traces we leave behind as a result of our interaction with those technologies..