Recently, news that Facebook had set out to manipulate the emotions of more than 700,000 unwitting "psychological study subjects" (read: its users) in an effort to better understand how they respond to certain content and, in turn, better monetize said users, set off a firestorm about who owns what, when, and how. Are we just finger-tapping pawns in their giant hive machine? Are we being taken for a ride on that Great Monetizing Ferris Wheel, being flipped upside-down until every last penny falls from our pockets?

Probably, says Ken Doctor at the Neiman Journalism Lab. Facebook and Google, he notes —which now control 49 percent of the $50 billion U.S. digital ad market and about 68 percent of the $32 billion global mobile ad sector — are also in the business of customer mind control. From Doctor:

Rob Horning at the New Inquiry also explores how the mood-manpulation study is of serious concern, but takes it one step further to ask: As continuous participants in Facebook—which is expected to take in $4.8 billion in digital ad revenue this year alone—to what extent are we not only potential study subjects for advertisers, but also unwaged labor?

Until two years ago, Facebook didn't have digital ad revenue. But only a year later after going public, in 2013, it controlled 15.8 percent of all internet ad revenue shares. And, as Horning notes, Facebook and its ad revenue exist solely because of the content its users provide. From Horning:

What do you think? Do you feel like you are being manipulated or used by social media? Share your thoughts in the comments.