It's not just you. This whole thread is full of this kind of sentiment.
And as a new arrival in the thread, my reaction to your reaction was that you did seem to take it too personally that many others have a different perspective on things. 🤷
I have very recently completely changed my mind regarding getting a new phone. For the first time in my life I don't always have that when/where/how of constantly trying to calculate the best [whatever] when it comes to the next phone.
And… honestly… it's like waking up from having been in some kind of cult or something. Once that base (self-) conditioning broke I look back at it like I was crazy.
For work I did need the hardware in my current (XS Max) iPhone, so I don't regret it; and when the work requirements catches up with me the next time I will get a new one. But outside of that I simply don't need a new iPhone.
Not going all 1800s' frugal, though; still getting the AirPods Max, because those will actually add something to my life. And I'll always be up for getting the latest AW, if it contains some sort of feature that literally could add (time) to my life.