The term "fan labor" was first used in cultural studies to discuss the myriad of activities undertaken by fans of shows like Star Trek, which included discussing episodes online, organizing conventions, and producing feature-length films. Theories of fan labor extended the idea of an "active audience" to show how fans engage in productive activities that financially and culturally benefit the creators of the original film, book, or television series. Following fan labor is "immaterial labor," a concept framed by Marxist-influenced cultural historians. Maurizio Lazzarato defined the term as "the kinds of activities involved in defining and fixing cultural and artistic standards, fashions, tastes, consumer norms and … public opinion." This definition of "labor" would include tagging Facebook photographs, posting status updates on Twitter, and contributing to Wikipedia. Related is "affective labor," the positive benefits that people derive from these acts within a community, whether these are increased social status, intimacy, reputation, prestige, or self-satisfaction. Others think of participation in social media frameworks, particularly commercial frameworks, as another kind of labor: through participation, the value of these sites is created and extracted, in the form of user data, viewings of advertisements, or click-throughs. Many scholars consider this exchange uneven, and view "user-generated content" or "participatory culture" as a form of exploitation by the social software and culture industries.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 505