The general public wasn't paying, but a LOT of platforms started paying pretty early...Instagram is the first that comes to mind, but if you call Youtube social media too, they've been paying even longer.🤷‍♂️

Money needs to be made for it to thrive, I feel. Which is why Fediverse is struggling to gain steam right now as well, despite it seemingly growing in popularity, the MAU are going down month by month. Monetization is a big deal.