I think I've cracked a bit of the code of why modern content feels so different.

"Back in the day" (an undetermined number of years ago), people cared less about standing out to the world, and more about standing out to their in-crowd.  For Newgrounds, obviously, the in-crowd was Newgrounds.  No one cared about "going viral" or even had any notion of what that would be like beyond the likes of Numa and Madness.  Exposure was incidental.  Sensationalism just wasn't really part of web content.

What do you think about when you make content today?  How do you plan your scripts?  Why do you choose certain words for your titles?  You're building your content, from the ground up, to be sensational.  And it's not a bad thing.  Sensation gets views, views get recognition, and recognition gets money.  People like to say they're not in it for the money or whatever, but at the end of the day, you follow the same formula.

Maybe this is the mature version of web content.  Maybe it's the immature version.  I dunno.  I tend to like both purists and sensationalists, so I'm really not here to judge people.