It's the commercialized Internet's reaction to a large number of "average people" who want things and would rather pay with their attention than with cash.
No, paying with money is subject to AML/KYC while paying with attention is exempt. Lower friction. This is why micropayments-with-money hasn't taken off while micropayments-with-attention has exploded.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24006703