I'll instead argue that this is merely symptomatic of a society that is generally increasingly catering to short attention spans and dumbed down popular cultura

I'll instead argue that this is merely symptomatic of a society that is generally increasingly catering to short attention spans and dumbed down popular cultural discourse. I'm not clear on the extent this is due to actual popular demand versus inculcation (pop culture being the go-to font of "entertainment" and leisure "activities") versus some other unmentioned factors. Access to wider (global? trans-regional?) audiences brings new opportunities, but desiring broad appeal also causes reductionist behaviors. Surely one can show the trends in UI's over the course of the last 3 decades and point towards the tendency towards increasingly simplified design. This has also become a feedback loop as the aesthetic of such practical decisions becomes a necessary signal to display.