I see this stuff more and more, maybe like four times in the last week just from links I have clicked from the HN frontpage. Other visitors, doing their thing. I really dislike it.
Install NoScript. Makes the web way better. All that cutesy JS crap is disabled by default, and for badly written websites that require JS, you can go whitelist just enough to get the page functional.
You can do this in uBlock Origin too, saves needing to install another extension (as I assume most of us already have it installed)
It's like the view counter from the early web updated for the 2020s, what's not to like?
1990's web was a whacky place
Whenever someone on HN starts whining how the internet used to be better I just mutter "pop ups".
Someone invented ad blockers for a reason 25 or so years ago.