When to place if inside the for loop and when not to do so

Why is the if else condition outside the for loop for(v in views). Why still is R able to read the the whole vector, e.g. linkedin.

linkedin <- c(16, 9, 13, 5, 2, 17, 14)         
facebook <- c(17, 7, 5, 16, 8, 13, 14)

interpret <- function(num_views) {        
  if (num_views > 15) {        
    print("You're popular!")         
    return(num_views)         
  } else {        
    print("Try to be more visible!")         
    return(0)         
  }
}

interpret_all <- function(views, return_sum=TRUE) {        
  count <- 0         

  for (v in views) {        
    count<-count+interpret(v)         
  }         

  if (return_sum==TRUE) {        
    return(count)         
  } else {        
    return("null")         

  }         
}