[rozap]

Both things can be true. It's true there's a whole circle jerk around complaining about how the web used to be better, and the much of indie web movement is just talking in circles about this phenomenon.

It is also true that Facebook and its ilk did destroy huge swaths of the online community. Example: I'm a automotive tinkerer, and online forums used to be a rich source of information, community, crazy builds...people actually creating stuff for the sake of creating. All that is gone now and the purity of an open space to put creative pursuits has been infiltrated with perverse engagement incentives, ads, algorithmic curation and the like.

I get what you're saying, but it doesn't mean that OP is wrong even if you find it exhausting.