Online media whores and pimps

As I ease into the medium I pretty much would rate last on my list of ‘ideal medium to work in’, I am alarmed at the lack of need for quality or propriety or any sense of originality even.
It reminds me of TV except the time scale is magnified a billion times. In TV you fight for eyeballs for a programme, online you fight for hits, trillions by the second.
It makes media sites online media whores and pimps. It’s scary for a newbie like me. Especially coming from print where being original still had some pride attached.