This post is in response to the question "NFTs were first made in 2015, but it took until 2021 for them to gain popularity, why is this?"
In my opinion, I believe there are several main reasons for this. The two that I think are most prominent would be the lack of seriousness and the since evolving digital world.
Lack of seriousness, in my opinion, is the leading reason it has taken so long for NFTs to get a good footing. As an average millennial consumer who has minimal knowledge of online universes and things related to it, I've had a hard time figuring out what the true purpose of NFTs were. As many people did, I saw the Monkey NFT and that was the basis of my knowledge. It was taken as more of a joke or something cool, not something that I, as a consumer, would want to learn about and get involved in. As more time passed, more information started coming out about NFTs and large companies started expressing interest in getting involved. This gave NFTs validity and confirmed to consumers that this is more than just a fun token collecting thing for people with excessive amounts of money.
The secondary reason that I believe NFTs are just now becoming big is because the metaverse and other online universes weren't where they are now. One of the most interesting and incentivizing aspects of NFTs is the online translation of owning the NFT. For people that are interested in the metaverse, collecting these tokens means being able to participate in exclusive events and collect limited edition items, both tangible and virtual. The metaverse is miles ahead in production now than it was just a year ago, let alone in 2015. The improvement of the metaverse encourages the purchasing and use of NFTs and vice versa. As NFTs become more popular, the metaverse is then encouraged to improve and become more interesting/accessible to users. The two are mutually beneficial when they improve.
In conclusion, it has taken a second for NFTs to get some grounding, but I do believe that now that they have, there's not telling what they will do and how prominent they will become in society. The years that it has taken for NFTs to become relevant has most likely largely benefitted them in the long run because as people are now beginning to get involved, the metaverse and NFTs are so much more advanced and world applicable than they used to be.