It's true that things could always be worse, as they are in free comment areas such as YouTube or 4chan or wherever. But this is still the internet, and Medium is still competing with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Pornhub. So it's possible that high-minded philosophers like us are making fools of ourselves here, trying to elevate the discourse.

I've written about this on Medium. The first link below, for example, shows that the follower counts are largely bogus. I'd estimate that roughly only ten percent of the followers actually read at least one article from the followed writer. The vast majority of followers are bots or their lack of engagement makes them as good as bots.

https://medium.com/grim-tidings/haunted-by-the-mythic-success-of-lowbrow-content-2a9c1b34401f?sk=2127816b48e255d51333df359ed2704a

https://medium.com/an-idea/come-see-the-hacks-at-the-cyber-circus-freak-show-aca2e38da719?sk=fac60a939a5522fd35451da4814a9555