I am glad there was no such thing as "influencers" when I entered this hobby, because if there were, I would have probably dismissed it as puerile. There was a time when it was assumed—rightly or wrongly—that role-playing gamers had above average intelligence, but the tone of these influencers (and their willingness to shill for certain companies) makes it clear that they, and certain companies, believe their audience is composed of gullible dullards. Every video they make has a clickbait title and seems like a commercial or an infomercial. The influencer has, at this point, become a product whose goal is to promote official products released by companies that, in some cases, are actively pursuing a strategy of transforming the hobby into a mass of passive consumers dependent on their products rather than a community of creative individuals who sometimes like to do it themselves and share what they create.
I have learned to distrust these companies and their influencers. I ignore their videos. I'm just glad my generation wasn't subjected to this particular form of commercialization when the hobby was young.
Right there with you on this. The amazing lack of simple creativity these days does not bode well for the hobby's future. I've long given up on the idea that this has all just been a phase.
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