[jlaurend]

Yes, retargeting and tracking is extremely effective.

You've fallen into what I'm gonna call the "HN fallacy".

- I would never click on an ad, therefore no one clicks on ads.

- I don't have a need for a better file syncing UX, therefore no one would ever use Dropbox.

- I don't see the point in crypto, therefore no one would ever use Coinbase.

Specifically, let's say you've seen 100,000 ads in your lifetime and literally zero have had any impact on you, much less driven you to click through and purchase immediately. It's reasonable for you to question the utility of these ads.

There are, however, entire populations of users whose behavior is vastly different from yours. They may be very willing to click through an ad to purchase.

A good marketer will only target their ads at the people most likely to purchase (i.e. not you). This puts you on a negative feedback cycle where you only get ads from companies that are spray-and-praying or too unsophisticated to target their ads more specifically.

[feoren]

I've been told this my entire life. People make statements like "everyone does X" and I say "really? I have literally never done X in my life and I know many people who say the exact same thing; in fact I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who does X" and the response is "yes, but you're different from everyone else. You and everyone you know are not like most people!" I find it extremely unconvincing.