I’ve been running my own freelance design business for 17 years and I’d never think of getting full-time employment. Having your own business is just too good.
There’s a stigma around independent workers, especially the term “freelancing”, that you’ve touched on in many of your final points. Not everyone has what it takes to freelance. Many people don’t have the self-discipline to do it well. There’s also the fact that many industries with a high percentage of gig workers are less regulated than more traditional lines or work. Low barriers of entry too. So there are a lot of people who are just shit at what they do, and the bad experiences they serve up for their clients give the whole idea a poor reputation. These people support the stereotype that freelancers who work from home are lazy and unreliable.
The great news is, if you’re professional, reliable, and great at what you do, it’s easy to stand out from the crowd and build an awesome freelance business for yourself. I don’t care what the media say about it, and neither do my clients. So they can blast it all they want, and continue to miss out on the future of work.