The lack of objectivity around this is absolutely astonishing from a community such as this.

It exploded with complexity because frontend complexity exploded. Simple. Absolutely no people expected an "API call" from a frontend application 20 years ago, now people expect loading indicators on buttons (that make API calls) after pressing them.

Just have a look at the comments on the recent Standard Notes / React Native post. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34197613