This can happen at *nonfiction* publications, too. It's a real trap for writers: If you train yourself to write that way, you may have trouble moving on to off-Medium publications that expect more from you AND pay better. The way to beat the trap is either to: 1) Be extremely selective about which Medium publications you submit to (i.e., avoid any with content seems dumbed down); or 2) Publish on your own on your own feed. I do a combination of those, but it's an imperfect system, for sure. Have you found one that works for you?