Every time you open a website, scroll social media, or search for something online, you’re being monetized. Not in theory: in real time. Behind the scenes, an entire ecosystem of ad exchanges, data brokers, and targeting algorithms is working to capture your attention and convert it into profit.

In 2024 alone, global digital ad spending surpassed $700 billion, with companies competing aggressively for microseconds of user attention. And who is at the center of all this?

You.

Attention Is the Currency — You're Just Not Getting Paid

The digital economy runs on attention. Platforms like Google, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube are free to use because you’re not the customer: you’re the product. Your clicks, scrolls, pauses, and purchases generate valuable signals that advertisers pay top dollar for.

Yet, despite being the source of this value, users receive nothing. No revenue share. No transparency. Just more ads.

The Rise of Surveillance Advertising

To maximize profits, the industry has leaned heavily into tracking-based advertising: often referred to as surveillance capitalism. From cookies and pixels to fingerprinting and device graphs, companies are racing to learn everything about you, often without your knowledge or explicit consent.

This model has:

• Erased digital privacy

• Rewarded intrusive design

• Created a feedback loop where more data means more targeting, which leads to more profit

And through all of it, the user is still uncompensated.

Ad Fatigue and Broken Trust

It is no surprise that people are burned out. We’ve all trained ourselves to ignore banners. We skip pre-rolls. We install ad blockers. In fact, over 40% of internet users now use some form of ad blocking.

Trust in advertising is at an all-time low. And ironically, the more ads we ignore, the more aggressive the system becomes to reclaim that lost attention.

This model is not sustainable.

A Shift Is Coming

There is growing awareness that the current digital ad model is flawed. Consumers are demanding transparency. Regulators are cracking down on tracking. And new models are emerging that ask a simple question:
What if attention had a price, and users got a cut?

Whether through value-for-attention platforms, tokenized engagement, or privacy-preserving ad ecosystems, we are beginning to see early signs of a shift. A future where users are not passive targets, but active participants in the value chain.

A New Model for Passive Income Online

One project exploring this shift is Adreva. It is a browser extension that lets users earn passive income online by opting in to view a small number of curated ads. It works alongside your ad blocker, protects your browsing experience, and compensates you for the attention you already give away for free.

It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a slow, steady, and privacy-conscious way to earn passive income while browsing the internet, which is something most people already do for several hours a day.

In a world where platforms monetize your every click, Adreva is a small but meaningful step toward a fairer attention economy. One where earning passive income is not limited to influencers or investors, but is made accessible to everyday internet users.

As the digital ad landscape evolves, experiments like Adreva are worth watching. Not because they have all the answers, but because they ask the right question:

What if attention wasn’t taken, but offered? And what if offering it earned you something back?