YT and TT are platforms that breed weird quirk uniformity. They all grab your attention with the same phrases ("you'll never believe ...", "what about [insert something outrageous]? Let me explain ..." etc.) For a while, everybody had the same Ikea shelves behind them crammed with shit. Then I think we moved on to neon signs. It used to be fashionable to show off your expensive big microphone, probably much to the delight of its manufacturer. And that's why I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the manufacturer paid some influencers to hold the tiny mike prominently in the shot like they would hold a dog poop bag filled with poop from a stranger's dog. And then it was copied.

From what I gather it is to look more authentic and in the moment, unprepared.

It started with the Rode Go mics which for $200 you get 2 mics and a receiver with some crazy good noise rejection and gain control. 40 hr battery life and easy to work with. There's now several copies from dji and the like that are even cheaper.

YouTubers didn't mind the blocky look as it let them get great quantity sound in not ideal locations, without messing with traditional lapel mics(boxy clips, cables and tape). The closer you can get to the mic the more background noise you can deal with.

It then became a trend. Just as Rode have come out with a new version that's 1/3rd the size

They're ads for microphones. Any brand logo you can see clearly in-frame I assume is a paid product placement. Your favorite folksy, down to earth content creator just "keeping it real" has to make a living. And sponsorships and advertising is how it has been done since the start. Your favorite personality, at the end of the day, is an actor working for corporations.

IDK why but it it annoys the hell out of me, especially given that those kind of mics are meant to be worn on your shirt.

If you're going to make a career out of media, you should at least know how to use your equipment properly. It's unprofessional and almost as annoying as starting your video out with "hey guys".

Take a 101 course on A/V and radio communications at your local community college before you begin broadcasting is all I'm saying. Put in the bare minimum effort before you try to go attracting millions of viewers.

I watch clips where people can be heard super-clearly on lowly clip-on mics.

There is no reason to hold it in your hand. You're not Bob Barker.

Compare with the vapid influencerati trash holding their phones like pizza slices and shouting into them and turning the sound uploke they're on some reality trash show. Telling them that they're absolutely using it wrongly, that engineers have tuned the mic and speakers for a completely different orientation, is just lost. So I make fun of them.

Can I have microphone so pepel can hear me?

The YouTube microphone situation is crazy...

The original tiny-mic legend, Nat's What I Reckon reviewing the overpriced-boatshow.

He grabs anything kicking around, for a mic-holder. (Find the one where he uses a sprig of rosemary as the mic-holder)

also this

It's funny that's why