The no-soap rule came from back when soap contained lye, which does indeed strip the seasoning from cast iron. This knowledge was passed down, and became false as soap changed formulas. Not because of "hipster culture", by which I think you mean consumerism. Try to have an open mind.
Also, what if I told you its ok to use soap on cast iron pans? The hardened coating isn't prone to soap interaction. It removes all the grime and gives you a clean non-stick surface if you use soap.
I blame all this on hipster culture which is based on nothing but making things more complicated than it should be, getting viewership and generally misleading people into thinking something is more difficult that it really is. In turn, making people spend more money on useless shit that they don't need.