It's because they're Normies, and therefore prioritize Socializing over anything else. It couldn't have been abandoned after 2020, because COVID forced all normies to curb their IRL socializing, driving them into subcultural hobby burrows to do it instead, like an infestation.
Modern fandom culture should have been abandoned after 2020. I do not understand the desire to be a part of one so bad when they are horrible and restricting environments nearly all the time. You care more about being able to talk about something and fitting in than enjoying it