What is it exactly the complainers want?
The traditional ways of getting your pictures seen still exist. There are still print magazines and art galleries. Every trendy cafe is plastered with the owner's girlfriend's talent-free paintings and/or photographs.
You take pictures because it's the "lazy man's art" (- Robert Frank). If you've got a studio and make money doing it then you've got an instagram account with a decent amount of followers and you're on there because you know it's free advertising. So you're not complaining.
So you're a hobbyist, and you want everything for free, dropped in your lap. Zuckerberg isn't evil because he wants websites that make money. Toyota isn't evil because it doesn't give cars away for free.
If you want to see amazing pictures for free without leaving your room, there's literally google images. If you want to learn about the history of photography, there's youtube.
If you want fame and adulation, but without posting to a site that has advertising, then take good pictures and approach gallery owners. You're going to need shmoozing/social skills for that. Also these days it's better if you're fluent in pseudo-intellectual.
Magazine contests are not a bad way to do photography the traditional way.
https://www.bandwmag.com/contests/41They're having an interesting contest.
There's also meetup dot com.
