I was horrified by zapping when I first joined Nostr. Watching people openly solicit engagement by promising free sats seemed like the absolute nadir of social media. At the time I commented that it would make whores of everyone. I still worry that it encourages people to regurgitate popular opinions but I think it has useful applications for writers, musicians and all those other applications for Nostr that aren't just a microblogging platform.

As you suggested in your first comment, the culture is everything and we need to stand up for that as more people join. However, I suspect the future lies more with private relays where people can foster the culture they want rather than the town square model which will always be something of a cesspool.