>Of course it needs to be noted that most users don't even understand that they are selling themselves. And of the few who do most still think it's better than paying money.
This is such pretentious snobbery. In a world where you have to pay for search engine I am still dirt poor working some shit entry-level job/doing manual labor because when I was a kid I couldn't even afford interned and had to hitch off a neighbour, having free access to Google, tons of free learning material, messaging boards, etc. is what got me out of that situation.
I pay to avoid advertisement, but that's a luxury I can afford now days, and I have almost no concerns about privacy - I don't care at all that Google knows my interests, browsing history, purchase history, etc.
The concerns about data collection I see are mostly blown way out of proportion and most people rightfully don't care TBH.