I've always thought it was exacerbated by a young age group with fear of missing out and little disposable income. If the game sucks, then they don't have to get and they aren't missing out. From my own experience it seems like being highly critical is normal of younger age groups; I dont really think they're self aware in this respect yet. I can't be the only one who was brought to museums, sights, etc by my parents which couldn't care less about at the time but would have enjoyed as I got older. Its an edgy phase of your life.

Some of it is just post social media phenomenon.

And some of it is certainly genuine. I had a hard time containing my disdain for the new matrix film as a big fan of the series. It wasn't contrived or anything for validstion, I was honestly just super disappointed and wanted to join in that shared disappointment online. So in that instance I was guilty myself as a grown man. Some of these properties people have gotten invested in, maybe too much.