The real problem is that all the downsides of the "tracking and advertising" tech world are largely hypotheticals and/or so subtle and divorced from day to day life as to be almost imperceptible.

There hasn't really been a "reap what you sow" moment for people who threw privacy caution to the wind for free stuff.

Yup, though the current US gov’t is working hard to make that happen, near as I can tell. We’ll see what happens!