Material design looks pretty dated these days. I'm wondering why people would still be using it? Is it just a taste thing or something people have been working with for a long time?

I used to use material UI for every project I made, but then I saw ShadCN/ui and immediately switched.

I agree. I think it's a function of familiarity. People who interact daily with apps using Material Design get used to it and don't notice how odd it looks to everyone else.

I always thought Material looked bad. It's the worst thing that survived the 2010s flatshit trend, IMO.

But it's familiar, so I can't really be that mad at the people who continue to use it. As often as Google makes things that break their own rules, and as much as Samsung deep-fries Material into a fine dust, people still know that the low-contrast pill-shaped thing is a button.

Has anything come along since Material that was aesthetically better and ergonomically better and equally well-supported across platforms?