I've seen it mentioned as the death of the cultural icons... I think the biggest cause is social media. It has taken power away from the individual and given it to the masses. Before, to be a celebrity you had to be accepted by the mainstream media, who chose who to give attention to and who remained in obscurity. Now you only need to be viral and people will know who you are. People pay less attention to one person who is constantly blasted by a few media conglomerates and instead give their time to nieche personalities who cater to their exact personalities.

Also most of the cultural icons produced by the mainstream media in the past were people who's path and trayectory also depended heavility on the network of people and friends they were able to foster, it did'nt mean they were the best or most talented out there. With social media and domocratization mass communication eveyone who is talented has a shot at stardom, meaning most of the celebrities now have to be actually talented to compete for the attention of millions of people who have higher standards.