People prefer to pay with tracking data instead of money because they have lots of tracking data and not much money.

And also because they don’t realize how effectively that tracking data can be used to manipulate their emotions and behavior with the goal of squeezing out what money they do have.

I would claim it's "better" these days than previously. At first, everyone thought they were getting something for free, no strings. Now it seems that even the "uneducated" public understands most of it...they just don't seem to care. The only one that people seem to be unaware of is the fairly precise location tracking that happens.