This is true, and I don't know about other fields. My assumption is that they aren't that different. Most researchers are mediocre, and they find some "in" topic and poke at the periphery and get published.

Maybe I misread you, but you seemed to imply that good minds were being wasted working on social sites. I think this undervalues the ability to do things we know how to do, but to do it well and better than the rest. Apple is inventing new shit, but they make things better than everyone else. this adds enormous value to the world. Many hours of my life are saved because they paid attention and got a lot of details right. It's not science, but it's highly valuable.