Kids have always played wierd make-believe games.

Sometimes it starts getting more formalized and attracts slightly older kids. People usually think it's weird, then they get used to it. ...like dungeons and dragons.

Skeptical articles lean into the knee-jerk reaction that "something must be broken with society."

Ultimately, lots of stuff is wierd if you approach it from a judgemental outsider's perspective. Wtf is golf all about, for example?