It's very much a hobby, like audiophiles, but also like tricking out your car. It can be expensive. It's more than the average person needs. It's fun picking out parts and being part of a community.
There's also a perspective bias that most mechanical keyboard content you see is not made by people who found a keyboard that made the wrists stop hurting and then went on with their life. The people enthusiastic enough to make content are also the people that have a bunch of tricked out keyboards.
I think this is exactly it. I started getting RSI, spent a little time researching, bought a zsa moonlander and it cured me.
I haven't turned it into a hobby, it's just a tool that solves a problem.