It's more than toxic, it's ailing. It's not just HN, it's the general inability of people to perceive themselves. These things are taught in the humanities, a field of study that's pretty poo-pooed in the tech world as nonsense. It's no surprise, especially when you can make such a great living targeting people in ads better, roping them into buying more useless crap by confusing their own personal philosophical journey while stumbling face-first into your own.
Everyone has to face down the abyss at some point. Usually at many points. It's interesting to hear about the 'journey' from people who've spent their careers heaving people into that abyss (metaphorically speaking, of course)...
I agree, though. If more people faced the reality that: they do not know why any of us are here, and that there is no rule that dictates tomorrow, that we didn't exist at one point and one day will die (and even further, how we figure we are at all extricable from our surroundings)... then I think people would make vastly different choices.
But credit where credit is due—that's a new one. "Targeted ads are for saving lives"
Come on, man.
edit: For the record, I've been down that road. Drowning in cynical consumerism is not only not the answer, it's actively harmful to be awash in that much vampiric information. If you found help because of a chance encounter with an ad, I'm happy for you. The universe is a crazy place and good can most certainly come from bad (and the other way around). But my god man, those are not designed to help people—they are designed to extract maximum revenue at any cost—social, personal, or otherwise.
Some people may get more joy out of crushing a new feature than taking their dad to the same old steakhouse for their birthday but that is more an issue with how Dopamine is distributed than an issues with their motivations.
I recently spent the weekend with my brother and his wife both who I love deeply. But during the weekend I felt myself wanting to play Elden Ring and dick off like I often do on the weekend instead of feeling obligated to spend time with them who I only see a few times a year. Does that mean I have some type of flaw? No. It means my reward system loves getting runes so I can level up and make progress in a game which was build specifically trigger that reaction.
But I have been alive long enough to know that prioritizing spending time with my family is actually much better for me and everyone involved in the long run than chasing the quick Dopamine hit my body wants. So I do it. We hiked, ate out, watched UNC beat Duke, and had a fantastic time and build memories that I'll cherish going forward.
Human are capable of feeling conflicting emotions and drives. It's hard, but finding which things to prioritize kinda is... living.