Broader sociological problems aside for a second (academia does have issues for sure), one should keep in mind here that string theory is just a small subfield

Broader sociological problems aside for a second (academia does have issues for sure), one should keep in mind here that string theory is just a small subfield of physics and is not at all representative of physics as whole (or even theoretical physics). So don't let the pathologies that have developed there colour your view of physics or science generally.