I think the internet culture has shifted towards monetization of everything. People want to make money off of everything. Even the things that are not deemed valuable.

Gone are the days when knowledge was distributed for free, information was shared for free; pictures, videos, stories, music - all sorts of entertainment on the internet was free. Back then, everyone was equal.

Nowadays, there are creators, and there are subscribers. Everyone wants to be a creator. Why? Because creators make money.
Whatever happened to the hobbyists who made things out of passion, and not with a goal of making big bucks at the end?
They’re there. Still there, thank God. A good example is the twtxt community. And dozens of other platforms and forums and sites where people host and create things out of passion. They’re not getting paid to do it. They do it because they love what they do. And at the end of the day, if people want to show their appreciation for it, well and good. If not, doesn’t make any difference to them.