>But I'm undecided about who/what it says more: MrBeast & his antics, his audience, YT, its audience, other populair platforms & their audience, today's public in general, or how its preferences are changing.

I think it's a sign of a new generation approaching the internet in a different way. We're at a point where Gen Alpha is starting to hit its teens and social media isn't a flashy new tool but a medium of life. When everything starts out shiny, nothing is. So they will start to cut through the glitter and simply be efficient with the platform. short form content made for the smartphone they co-existed with their whole life, a focus on more relatable creators (or the appearance of relatable) instead of the most eye catching, and a general resistance to clickbait and ads that have disappointed them young and early.

meanwhile, the Genz/late millenial era is aging into its 30's and their interests are shifting. They literally grew out of the high energy roller coaster style of content and are likely still cynical of the world they grew into. They've had their fun but they will probably settle into different forms of content on Youtube. and/or creators will adjust their formats. I remember the early 10's era of "skit comedy" where every video felt like it needed to copy AVGN/Nostalgia critic and insert small skits between their reviews/analysis. That's pretty much all shifted towards a more documentary style of video with minimal fluff (or at the very most, very short interjections with meme visuals/sound FX, usually using the piece of media in question).