I spent the past few days somewhat disconnected from current tech news, only to find the internet up in arms suddenly about Christopher Wylie's "exposé" of Facebook's apparent misuse of user data. It makes a great story, doesn't it? And Facebook has always been a natural target when it comes to paranoia about privacy and data mining.

But seriously, let's cut the bullshit.

Call me crazy, naive or short-sighted, but at its core, I don't see anything wrong with what Kogan and Nix set out to do. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying these are the most morally upstanding gentlemen around. But ultimately I don't see any difference here between what they achieved and what a well planned, well-executed marketing campaign looks like.

Sure, we may be touchier about the subject because we're throwing around terms like "changing the culture" or even "psychological warfare". And yes, when you layer in the plausibility of their actions contributing to Trump's election to office, you start to hit a nerve.

To me, the real naivety falls on those who are suddenly calling on everyone to delete their Facebook accounts. Facebook is merely the straw man in this case. If we're going to start pointing fingers at the social giant's business practices, we should probably begin boycotting every form of mass media around. Anyone who believes an advertisement in a newspaper or innocuous banner ad on their favourite website is somehow innocent needs to reattach themselves to the planet.

Targetted messaging, whether the intent is to sell a sports car or to alter an audience's perception is a core fundamental of marketing. I would go as far to say that it IS marketing. Brands exploit what they know about their target audiences in the same way people adapt their behaviours, conversational style and appearance depending on whom we're interacting with. Doing so isn't deceitful, it's natural when you're interested in achieving a specific outcome.

I suppose the fear-mongering we've seen over the past few days makes it easy for any Facebook user to feel exploited to some degree, but that doesn't make it morally wrong. The story has just been warped to sound as if it's more of an invasion of privacy than it truly is.

If users genuinely feel as though they've been violated and are ready to delete their Facebook accounts, by following this logic we'd all quickly find ourselves reading parchment by candlelight in the woods. Targetted advertising and messaging isn't only smart business, but in my view, it's also a huge contributor to how we navigate the noise we face in our everyday lives.

On their best day, these fundamental practices help us make decisions, they improve our ability to get things accomplished efficiently. But that doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to question the messages we hear. They should also teach us to be a little more discerning about which words we choose to listen and give credence to.

So perhaps it's time we stop obsessing about the way corporations exploit our privacy for their own benefit. This isn't anything new and certainly not something warranting the demonization of one of the world's most important brands. Everyone's doing it, and so are you.