Ah! Triggered! /s
I agree that the "jerks" trope is at play here. But I don't think the characters are boring or without their observations on the world. The characters have plenty of observations about arising cultural moments, political issues, etc. Many episodes are essentially "The Gang Takes Opposing Views on X". Then we get to see these characters take each side to weird extremes while learning very little from the experience.
Like the "show about nothing" It's Always Sunny is in its prime during meta commentary episodes like "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award".
Having said that, tropes are usually a little more specific or identifiable than just the concept of "mean characters", so it probably wasn't the best use of the word.
Google ngram search for the word: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Trope&year_sta...
I agree. Most people who I tell this opinion to who are also Seinfeld fans disagree though.
The social norms violation thing is also why Curb You Enthusiasm comes so close; it is mostly about Larry David’s opaque social norms being constantly violated.
Disclaimer; I am a pretty big fan of Seinfeld. But, I don’t think anything comes close to what the writers and actors achieved with Seinfeld. Luckily if you’re anything like me you can continue to watch Seinfeld for over a decade and still not get tired of it.