Interesting questions. I was asked a very similar question at a presentation I made a couple of days ago and I suggested that the number of "photographers" has increased by orders of magnitude after the arrival of digital photography and inserting a camera into many devices we use. Many of these "photographers" if not most, are recording what comes in front of them rather than using photography as a language. Consequently, it becomes much easier for most of them to talk about the noise, sharpness, bokeh, and many others instead of what the photograph is about.
I remember seeing a post on another site where a visitor to the Louvre recorded the Mona Lisa and much of the conversation was about the zoom qualities of his phone and how well it did this or that. Even in front of a masterpiece, the conversation can totally ignore it and turn its focus on the gear.
That's the change in my opinion.
