You mentioned this before but I really do think that high def phone cameras ( and better cameras in general) are a massive part of what killed off big stage presences. Like I really think that's what caused that big gap between early and late 3rd gen. So many things we think of as 2nd and early 3rd gen existed because you played to the live crowd and the vid quality was 360 at BEST. heavy eyeliner (I miss you) was there because something more subtle wouldn't show up. Subtly too-its easy for idols to do 'little things' that someone with an eagle eye watching a high def video could catch but like adding 'subtle' details to a proformance is more complex than that and you shouldn't need to watch a vid at half speed to notice everything that matters. Some people think kai can be cringy and over the top but I really think that started because when he was being trained 4k quality wasn't a thing and to see his expressions he had to go all out. A lot of these new people are being trained for a high quality camera so they don't have that push to be super over the top and they go the other direction ( hello, model face) when every expression gets screenshot mid frame and memed online you kinda lose the nerve to break away from frozen face.
i can't remember if i ever specifically mentioned camera quality but regardless you are absolutely correct. kpop has always been straddling the line between theatre and film by nature of how the industry is contructed, but for the first 15 years it leaned much more heavily to the theatrical side thanks to the quality of cameras and the fact that touring was the big thing. big makeup big costumes big performances is the name of the theatrical game and has been for the history of ever, since humans have notoriously garbage eyesight and even fickler brains. theatre design is about allowing the eye to fill in the parts that it can't see, that's why paying attention to minute details (as a designer) only pays off if you've nailed the full shape of the forest. the audience doesn't and can't see those tiny details. film acting (and film as a medium in general) is a totally different ball game because it's all about getting up close and personal. it's the visual and formic opposite of the same mode. now in these mediums themselves there's very little crossover by nature of the actual forms, but with the increase in phone camera quality and also the fact that everything has been filmed for the last nearly two years, kpop is now in a space where somehow it's gotta be both at the same time. and there hasn't been a lot of negotiating of the spectrum (by anyone, i should be clear. we can't lump this one on idols alone).
personally i'm of two minds on it. i like the fact that better tech means better accessibility and better quality and i like that performances can be more complex and diverse. on the other much weightier hand, i don't think that idols should use the fact that everyone watching them has souped up opera glasses glued to their hands as an excuse to not do the requisite work of learning how to use their faces. these young idols wanna be cool influencer type celebrities when the fact of the matter is all performers are deeply weird people and when you are a performer you have to let that pride go. some people may find him cringe but kai himself is posting feet pics and every time he fails to make an iced coffee on bubble as the epitome of
because he knows you have to let it go. the motions of the human face are unflattering 90% of the time, so you just gotta roll with the punches. i don't blame any of these model faced idols for being afraid, especially since the industry is so image based and they are under so much pressure, but they do gotta learn eventually or they're not gonna have careers for very long.