They're doing it to improve their ability to coerce me to purchase products and services; not to make the world a better place.
Rampant consumerism has not made the world a better place, not by a long shot.
If you say shit like this unironically, you can't ever accuse someone else of having a "warped perspective".
The technique is designed to encourage consumption. This does not necessarily make society more efficient; having frequent nags to consume product one does not need is wasteful.
It's more than likely that targeted ads make humanity less efficient, due to the widespread coercion to consume products and services that are not necessary for a healthy and happy life.