Loop:
Congratulations on your courage to buck the trend. The post asked whether folks still found time to shoot .22s and you answered truthfully, albeit against many strong opinions in favor. You gave an honest opinion and that is to be applauded.
Now, I don't agree with you, but I don't think that is an effort to try to "fit in". I really enjoy shooting .22s. Yes, they're much less expensive to shoot than centerfire, but I just enjoy "plinking" in the country as opposed to going to a range and having to wait on the entire line to check and change targets. (Of course, this is because I still have an informal place to shoot as opposed to a commercial range.)
Mostly, the targets I enjoy plinking are cans. As opposed to an X ring, I have fun with my friends throwing out a pop can and shooting it with a .22 pistol. As it dances and gets further away, everybody is taking turns and once the first one misses, it behoves the next shooters to make a hit at the new distance. Not "range" stuff, but fun.
The first "real" gun I bought with my own money was a Remington Nylon 66 in Apache Black. Fourteen rounds in the tube magazine in the butt. Man, I had so much fun I can't even explain it here. When I was still young, (a VERY long time ago), my Dad had a standard Browning Buckmark .22 pistol that he would bring along when we went bird hunting in Michigan. We didn't always get many shots on birds, but I always looked forward to putting a box of ammunition through that pistol at the end of the day!
I have a Browning Buckmark today, and although it isn't the same model that my Dad had, it still brings back fond memories. (And, the trigger pull is smoother than any other out of the box firearm that I've ever tried.) For me, that and a Ruger 10/22 are just a lot of fun to shoot. (I still have the Remington, I just don't shoot it much 'cause the 10/22 is just as much fun and easier because the magazines are more convenient that the tube magazine on the Remington.)
So, Loop, although I don't agree with you, I do congratulate you on presenting a dissenting opinion against the majority. Take heart, because we all really do need those folks that challenge what we, and everyone arounds us, thinks. That's what keeps us thinking.
FWIW
GB7