Earn more money easily – many people probably want that. Generation Z has now found a way to make money without actively doing anything.
What is this method? Generation Z has discovered a new way to easily get money. They simply sell all their data to so-called data brokers. The business model of data brokers is simple: they collect the data and sell it to companies so they can create better-targeted advertisements.
While for years, mainly social media companies and search engines dominated the data business, Gen Z now wants to be paid for their data. This idea is being utilized by the company Verb.AI.
The company offers the following deal:
- Users download a spying app to their phones that records all activities and transmits them to the data broker.
- Users are paid for the collected data and earn some money on the side.
- Verb.AI is supposed to pay about €50 per month to the users.
Once the tracking software is installed, users don’t have to do anything else. The app records purchases, visited websites, but also app usage and the series and movies that were watched. All this data is transmitted and allows for the creation of an accurate profile about the users.
Gen Z has no problem sharing data
Why is this offer so attractive to Gen Z? Generation Z differs from all other generations in how little problem they have with giving away their own data.
According to the “Forum Global Consumer Sentiment” survey (via oliverwymanforum.com), 88% of Gen Z has no problem sharing some personal usage data with social media companies as long as they benefit from better online experiences. Among older generations, this figure is only 67 %.
Young adults also spend an average of 6.6 hours per day, the most time of all generations, on media (via talkerresearch.com). They are also the ones most likely to spend more than 15 hours per day on media. Thus, they are perfectly suited for the business model of data brokers.
For the about €50 that Verb.AI pays Gen Z and other users, they receive about 200 hours of usage data per person every month. Thus, the hourly wage for scrolling through social media is about 25 cents per hour.
The risk of data trading
Is it all safe? The seemingly easy earnings from selling one’s mobile data to companies like Verb.AI come with many risks. Even if companies promise anonymity, related data can often be de-anonymized, allowing companies to create detailed user profiles (via usercentrics.com).
There is also the fundamental question of whether for €50 a month one would show the neighbor, family, or colleagues at work every website visited, every series watched, and every product purchased. And not just once, but every day, and arranged in such a way that these people can easily request everything about oneself like in a search engine.
If you do not want to give away your data for €50 a month and not voluntarily either, you can take action yourself and do something about it. How you can best protect yourself on your smartphone is even revealed by the U.S. foreign intelligence service: A U.S. intelligence agency reveals a simple trick for more security on your phone
