One of the biggest problems with these sorts of issues is that, for the most part, the average Joe doesn't care that much until they're personally affected. Even if they are personally affected, it's really only those who are negatively affected who actually care that much.
Basic UX principle: when you have an end goal in mind, you focus efforts on getting there and anything that tries to slow you down or stop you is noise that you actively try to ignore. This is the problem. Data collection practices often actually are written out in a privacy policy, but nobody reads it because at the time you are presented with that policy, it's the least of your concern because your specific goal is to get to using the app/service/etc. Basically, when you should care the most is when you actually care the least.
I talk to friends of mine about privacy and even pose doomsday scenarios. I usually get responses like "Yeah, it's kinda creepy that I saw an ad for something I'd looked up on Amazon, but really what's the big deal? At least I get to use Facebook for free!" or "Yeah, i know google has all my search history but come on, who's going to target ME? I'm not famous or somehow significant enough to matter." In other words, people are more interested in getting the free service or other benefit that sales of data bring.
The way I usually try to educate people on this is to think of it like insurance. We all know we need medical, house and vehicle insurance. Some of us will go through our entire lives without ever having a car accident, any damage to our house/property, or any significant medical condition. But (at least ideally) those people still carry insurance just in case. The problem is that the benefit of not getting insurance (a little extra money in your pocket) is one thing, but to a lot of people, the services provided by companies and apps are almost more valuable than the money. In a way many people are basically addicted to these services - even people who I have heard outwardly speak out against privacy violations and data collection wholly admit they still use Google and Facebook. Why? Because even though people don't agree with their data practices, they offer services people want and now depend on.
I sadly predict that it's going to take some serious catastrophic event that affects almost everyone in the country in a visible and tangible way before the mass population takes notice. Until then, people will gripe and complain but the allure of these apps and services will keep them basically unconvinced. Even big hacks like Equifax and Yahoo haven't made anyone not in the tech circle really care that much more in my experience.