I read that as an example to illustrate a point: it could also have said debt of $1000 with a debt ratio of 0.1 which is still pretty resilient.

That was exactly my point...a million dollars of debt is astronomical for the majority of people, but adding another data point such as DTA or DTI would make for a clearer picture of what the debt load actually is. Its like putting down a 100kg kettle bell and asking a group of people "is it hard to lift"? For the average person sure...but you're going to get a variety of answers if you put that kettle bell in front of kids vs a group of gym rats.

Edit: I guess a smaller amount like 10k USD might be better to illustrate the point.