I absolutely love to look at the bikes around me during events. Not to compare but simply because I enjoy seeing all the different styles materials and ages. My personal bike is also an eye catcher although it is four years old at this point but it generally elicits lots of comments.
to your point though of the seemingly large number of newer bikes, I look at this as a positive, one thing about covid is the number of increased bike usage, I think it’s absolutely fantastic, and if these newer people are joining supported or event rides then all the better because maybe they’ll stick with it! To be fair I live in a pretty tourist centric area and at our Saturday club rides we can get upward of 150 people with guests and visitors, I love to welcome people to the rides best suited for them and am always amazed at how many new aquaintances I make each season simply by talking about bikes and cycling!