This is not the present trend. I am seeing it for some months (or rather I should say right from the time when I joined this platform). Steem platform has been designed in such a way that it may bring immense fortune to the powerful people (large SP holders). I suggested many times to amend reward distribution system but nobody cares.
It is a fact that if a product is coming free to you then you are the product. Steem blockchain designers are very cunning. They have designed this platform in such a way that it may only support top witnesses and large SP holders who may self upvote or delegate their SP to the bots. Others are foolishly trying to match them.
What is the criteria of judging a good post or what is the meaning of quality content? Are these terms not vague objectives? Many times I wrote posts which had more than 1500 words. Even I tried to put my best effort to write those posts but what I got in return? Just about $0.5 or less for the whole days labor! That can also be earned if I just post two or three photos with a good caption.
If you are powerful, you can do anything as per your wish here. This is the most cruel society where powerful elite can destroy any week person (account) with its downvote. Here every voice which speak unpleasant truth, can be gagged for ever with a powerful downvote. You can do nothing in this situation, except seeing everything helplessly. This is the bitter truth.