Lately we’ve increasingly focused on the more cynical side of social media — a side with very little about it that can be described as social.

We all know the individual or two (or more) who must win the argument, whether it’s political, sport, trivia or philosophical, even if it costs them a friendship. Perhaps you’ve been that person once or twice. The dialogue gets downright abusive and cruel at times. Some people have given up on the likes of Facebook and Twitter — not worth the aggravation. They’ve unfriended the entire thing.

But that’s only half the story. The lighter half, unfortunately.

Now the other, darker half is emerging from the shadows: the sharing of private personal data — everything from the pets you own to your credit history — all reflected in your shopping patterns and consumer preferences.

On Wednesday, Facebook announced it was shutting down a type of advertising product that allowed marketers to access and use data from people’s offline lives to target them with ads on Facebook. The information includes categories like homeownership and purchase history and comes from some of the world’s largest data brokers, including Experian, Acxiom and Epsilon.

Analysts say the change won’t matter much: Facebook already has enough data on us to sell to marketers without the need for additional information.

Facebook will still gather data from your use of its service — from the businesses and hobbies you “like” to the types of news articles and “clickbait” you read and share. It will track your visits to third-party sites and apps. It will customize advertising that matches each user’s preferences.

This is cold irony for a culture caught somewhere between disclosing too much personal information in Facebook feeds and hesitating to give a phone number to a relative.

Then there’s the critical issue involving allegations of collusion between political parties and foreign interests like Russia — which could be the point of this editorial, but let’s discuss that another day.

The point here is that there’s a transaction going on, but money is not the unit of commerce; rather, your information and your availability as a consumer are the currency. You are the product for sale.

It’s a rather impersonal thought, isn’t it?

It’s intended to be. Don’t take it personally. It’s just business.