Yeah, it was drilled into us in high school not to trust it for research because it is not a primary academic source (and I agree that it should never be treated as one). I think that “it’s not a primary source” warning has been exaggerated to “it’s completely useless and untrustworthy” over time.

So the advice was meant for school, but after graduation people think the advice still applies when they just want to read up on random stuff in every day life. Ironically they'll ask ChatGPT instead.

The claim that using Wikipedia equates to plagiarism seems like fearmongering to me. I don’t understand it. It still shouldn’t be cited or quoted directly, but at least its articles’ sources are great and useful! ChatGPT though is actual plagiarism and IMO should have no presence in school papers.