Will McComb, a freshman at University of Virginia, says that thinking about how much information companies are likely able to gather about him from his online profiles makes him slightly uncomfortable, but that the benefits of targeted advertising or following a brand on Twitter outweigh his diminished privacy. "It makes it easier for them to try to sell me things," says the 19-year-old, who bought a tie last week after seeing a post about a flash sale in his news feed from a retailer he had "liked" on Facebook. "I can see how it's helpful for me."