evidence: Is social media worth paying for? [...] For starters, I’ve often wondered if there is enough value in social media to warrant paying for the privilege. In Europe, the social media app is not nearly as popular as it is in other countries. One example—I’ve been to Europe several times, and very few people bother to sell their stuff on Facebook Marketplace (since they still use Craigslist). It’s just not as common to post baby pictures and what you had for supper in that region of the world. This could be the first real litmus test of social media’s business value. If Meta does move to a subscription model it would be the first time we will find out if people are willing to keep using Meta’s apps if they have to pay for them.