I think the bigger problem here is actually that everyone is chasing money in some form, which means people aren't creating content for fun. They're chasing mass market. The problem with chasing mass market is that it reduces the quality of niche content that is designed solely and specifically to only appeal to fans of that niche.

I mean, idk. I don't think the E1 guys are exactly targeted to the heart of consumerism. And I periodically do see things in the hobby space pop up that I marvel weren't introduced earlier. Virtual Table Tops, for instance, are a thing that really hit their stride in the last five years. Maybe its just my corner, but I never fail to marvel at all the stuff that gets churned out that you'll simply never see spoken of mainstream. Discord has been really good about keeping me in the loop on these hobbies. Reddit has too, to a lesser extent.

I agree you do really need to be in the loop to find the heart of the hobby, but that's not exactly new. Its always a challenge in a niche community.

Everyone was happier on the internet when everyone was just kinda doing stuff.

I think they still are. The mainstream stuff is just a lot louder now, so finding the "cool kids doing their thing" signal in the "BUY ME! BUY ME! BUY ME!" noise is harder. But once you cut past it, you can tune all that other stuff out and just have fun with your friends.