Tolkien once said something I find quite funny. I can’t remember the exact quote, it was during an old interview with him that was recorded so I am paraphrasing here.
“I receive a lot of mail from people. But hardly anyone has read the books…”
He also, funnily enough, suggested that people don’t know what allegory was in the first place and most of what is claimed to be one, is just people seeing things. Which does make some sense, given that at least some definitions of allegory imply a conscious purpose, which a reader will never be privy to unless they can read the authors mind. He really took issue with people claiming TLOTR contained an allegory for the H-Bomb.
So I don’t think it’s a very new phenomenon.
No one is going to smite you for a little bit of a guilty pleasure. Not all novels need to be masterpieces for people to enjoy them. If you feel like reading a simple, poorly written novel about something that interests you and you enjoy it, go for it. If you’re in the mood for a literary masterpiece, go for it.
If entertainment is your objective then there are no wrong picks apart from those not entertaining you.