Oh I think the only reason they did that is because that was the "hip" and "schnazzy" UX flow that everyone signed off and loved because "oh this will be amazin

Oh I think the only reason they did that is because that was the "hip" and "schnazzy" UX flow that everyone signed off and loved because "oh this will be amazing for users". So apps, and even websites, have just become ways to market and push to users. It's not about functionality or enabling the user. Another, maybe smallish, manifestation of this that I've seen is that devs, UX, and everyone involved is so downright hostile to direct "links". Devs because it forces them to think about what stupid react/angular router they want to use, devops has to do URL-rewrites, PMs are worried about the "additional scope", and UX folks' brains absolutely explode that there is no "flow" to the entity (it just pops up, omg). Instead you, as the user, are forced to click through the search UI or to type the right thing, to trigger the flow or whatever, before you get to that entity you want. You can't just create it as a link, and thereby enabling users to have "emergent" behavior of sharing links or emailing them, etc.