I definitely agree there is a strong element of this, especially in the last few decades. Perhaps it is also due to a widening of the audience that can provide

I definitely agree there is a strong element of this, especially in the last few decades. Perhaps it is also due to a widening of the audience that can provide literary criticism back to the author. Only the educated wealthy individuals with connections could offer critiques in the Victorian era of fiction; now it is anyone with a social media account. Judging by the failure of widespread peer review in "hype" research fields, I'm not sure this is a good thing.