I am a map geek(cartophile?), so planning routes and seeing new roads/locations on a bike kills two birds at once. With something like 73000mi of gravel in my state, its easy to hit gravel and B-roads and makes new route planning a lot more fun.
My gravel rides are almost always solo(last time I rode with someone was a couple years ago), so the other appeal of gravel is I can toss some ear buds on and pedal for hours until Im exhausted. Its cathartic- music, remote quiet area, constant turn of pedals.
I ride a mix of paved trail and roads a lot during the spring and summer- I dont ever feel unsafe on the roads, but can certainly understand if someone perceives traffic as less safe now than years ago.
The network of paved trails in my region is so extensive, there is almost no need to ride roads, and it seems most recreational riders stick to trails. The only real benefit to riding roads here is hill climbing...and many recreational riders dont exactly love hills.
With such easy access to gravel, the ability to geek out on route planning, and quiet locations- gravel is about perfect for me.