TikTok and Today's Therianthropy
I honestly think the shift from personal essays to quadrobics and masks has a lot to do with a shift from primarily written content to primarily visual content. Old school forums full of written discussions were a very different environment than something like TikTok, which is naturally going to be appearance-based given that it's primarily a video platform. That's not to say that photos and other visual content were never posted on older sites, but they weren't the majority of substance in those spaces. There seems to be a more collectively introspective community on Tumblr, which also happens to be a site that values written content as much or more than visual. As a generalization, on here we get reach through stories and discussions that others find relatable or interesting, while TikTok algorithms provide reach based on aesthetic appeal.
That said, I have nothing against therian content on TikTok-- if there's an issue, it's mostly that it provides an influence that's divorced from traditional therian discussions and something gets lost in the mix, not that quadrobic and mask-related videos exist at all. I have no desire to alienate The Youth like some older therians alienated me, but I do understand the tendency to lament a community that isn't and will never again be "what it used to be" - or what we assume is its ideal form. This is especially true for me, someone who's very uncomfortable with sharing photos or videos of myself. TikTok therianthropy may never be "my thing", but I suppose that's okay. I love the creativity and enthusiasm that goes into the things those folks create, even if the format doesn't favor me.