This has been a really thought-provoking read, good reminder of how great this forum is. 
I have mixed feelings on content creator’s obligation to cater to GAS, or at least how far that obligation oughta go. But our relationship with the creative process, gear, and consumerism is a highly personal thing I think, I don’t really fault anyone too hard for feeling differently.
I’m certainly no synthfluencer, but Instagram is my largest-reach platform and my page is very “gear-heavy” you could say, so I’ve thought about this. My intentions with that platform have always been pretty simple- if during the course of my work, a surprising and exciting sound or moment arises, I will sometimes film a short clip to share with others to document the process and fun of finding a satisfying new sound or composition. In response, some discussion then usually takes place in the comments and in private messages and I try my best to answer any questions, many of which are about ways you could achieve the sound without the specific pieces of gear I was using. Pictures sprinkled in here or there are pieces of gear that inspired me in the moment that day or excited me as it pertains to actual music-making. And lastly but very rarely, posts informing followers about a new release.
If pictures of synthesizers trigger in you an unhealthy compulsion to purchase gear- I don’t know that that’s really my fault or my problem. What exactly do you expect a synthesizer musician to post? I’ve more or less made peace with my gear situation, and it took many years of buying and selling to find the set of tools that worked best for me. I’m going to do my thing and post pictures/videos of the tools that inspire me- I see it as the viewer’s responsibility to have the maturity to understand that with the skills and dedication you could make amazing music far better sounding than mine with nothing but a laptop. I get a lot of questions from people thinking about getting into eurorack or vintage synths, and I always try to make it very clear that none of this stuff is the key to salvation, and that there are countless examples of spectacular musicians who used extremely minimal tools.
Where it crosses a line for me is when the content is very clearly manipulative or sensationalized- the clickbait Youtube titles and mouth-agape thumbnails annoy me enormously, and it’s really sad that so many people feel they MUST play that game on that site to generate viewership. I see transparency as the key. If you’re being paid to show a product, say it up front, add the “includes paid promotion” tag. That doesn’t mean you are an evil person and the content has no value, it’s all about what the actual content is. But it’s important that people know the full context of what’s in front of them.
