I think the change in standards of presidential discourse have affected how we talk to each other; e.g. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_used_by_Dona....

Wait. You think the problem is "children" on the VC cult website?

You see no issues with the CEO of five companies who bought his way into U.S. politics and being a complete clown show of K-hole takes that go against everything the Constitution was written to hold as sacred being criticized for his BS?

Cool.

Nicknames help us deal with the reality of an Apartheid cult gaining influence on our government.

Act like a reasonable adult and people will be nice to you and call your by your given (or chosen) name.

I think it's partly down to Twitter. On Twitter there are or were certain names (and Elon Musk was one of the worst) which it was unwise to say, because those people have hordes of weird obsessive fans who search for the name of their beloved, and pop in to sealion. Thus, nicknames. Not really a factor here, of course.