Facebook has over 200 trackers watching you, new study finds

So, the more you browse the Internet the more your browser makes requests for (third-party) Web sites? That's hardly news.

What gets me is the reporting; 'even the site I write for helps them track you.' Now that's a question (I know the answer): why do so many sites throw sharing icons all over? Are they really that beneficial? Or is the return low? Or given the time required to put them on a site, does it not even matter?