My acquaintance with Ethereum began in 2017, then it was a very good technology. Probably everyone remembers, ICO, Bounty, crazy profits! I have been through this and am very grateful to ETH, but now everything is different.
It did not suddenly become a bad technology the technology is the same except it has been improved upon since your acquaintance began in 2017. The reason people still use Ethereum is because its still profitable and is still one of the better altcoins in the economy today.