Every contributor and consumer of every post on Reddit was being exploited for profit. That’s why social media platforms exist, to exploit its users for profit.
The users are the product, always have been. It’s unfortunate, but the internet is businesses all the way down.
I also said it was a matter of user expectation. There's a level of extractiveness that is acceptable for users, because users get information, entertainment, etc. in return for their participation on reddit.
Of course, that's setting aside the more radical position of "social media is fundamentally harmful to humans, therefore we should all stop using it regardless".
Every contributor and consumer of every post on Reddit was being exploited for profit. That’s why social media platforms exist, to exploit its users for profit.
The users are the product, always have been. It’s unfortunate, but the internet is businesses all the way down.