The method of posthypnotic suggestion was widely used to promote smoking. But, it was their expertise of the media that allowed them to succeed. The media can be used to our disadvantage as well as to our advantage. As long as there are people out there with such a low level of ethics that they will hook their fellow human beings on addictive drugs like hops and tobacco, I just think it is wise to gain as much knowledge about the way they do it as is possible. Especially when it comes to communications .
People clearly use the net for different purposes.
The people I have met on line and then face to face have had nothing to gain from each other except the exchange of information. There is no monetary profit to be made - and so I expect we deal with each other on a more basic and honest level. We became friends and enjoyed each others company and neither of us were suspicious of the other. But then I may have been extraordinarily lucky in the way I landed my paying web work - I made friends with someone in a vague sort of way, and she remembered me when her company needed a garden writer. I profit because of her - but I am pathetically grateful to her for remembering me and giving me a shot at making a living from work I love.