Every time I read one of these articles about cutting Google out, it becomes quickly apparent that the author uses the internet primarily as an entertainment or social platform which isn't my use case.

I'm old school, I use the internet as an information resource. As such good search results are paramount. Try as they might, but other search engines are nowhere as comprehensive as Googles. As long as I flex advanced search queries and ignore/adblock all the sponsored rubbish, Googles results always get me what I need, unlike any of the others. I can't see me switching away from Google search anytime soon.

I have never trusted cloud storage, so I'm not as deep into the Google infrastructure as most. I don't even use my Google account for email.

Primarily, people have enjoyed Googles services free for years, but now are suddenly saying 'omg, they are using my information for their own purposes!'. There's a very old saying 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth', which basically means if something is free, there WILL be a catch.

If having a large corporate spying on you and your data is really an issue, then pay for the same services from a smaller independent outfit. You'll be supporting smaller business, and as a paying customer have some recourse if they sell your data.

IF like me, ditching Google completely is not an option, then you can always mitigate the problem by installing an adBlocker (white-list those smaller sites!) and an automatic cookie eraser.