Yep thats a good point. I think that is already happening here as 'hubs' like Photofeed resteem your posts rather than re-post them so the rewards go directly to the creators. Then when they do their daily round up they use the steempeak beneficiary feature and split the rewards with the creators of the photos they share.
As for the damage being done I think so. Once the zeitgeist shifts change happens much faster then people realize.