I don't think it's recent. I think it comes and goes. Maybe you've noticed the newest wave. As for why, there's a lot of reasons. The big one that I'll note is

I don't think it's recent. I think it comes and goes. Maybe you've noticed the newest wave. As for why, there's a lot of reasons. The big one that I'll note is what I call the "PHP effect" - an easy to use language has the most beginners, and beginner work product attracts negative attention.