That's the point,it's a hobby!
For some reason,Ham Radio seems to be the only pastime that has to prove itself relevant in these times.
Yachting?----Every year,dozens of yachts compete in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race.
Why would you want to do this trip in a sailboat,when you could fly from Sydney to Hobart in a couple of hours?
Hunting?---You can buy meat at the Butcher!...
See,it sounds stupid for these other activities,so how is it a useful comment when used about Ham Radio?
You're missing the whole point unfortunately. It is a hobby and doesn't have to justify itself as you said. It is, however, a matter of how interesting the hobby is to young people. For example fishing - there is no substitute for catching a real fish in the wild unless you go out and fish for one. Same thing for hunting. There is no modern "invention" that renders these hobbies irrelevant as far as fun goes. Going to a grocery store and buying a fish isn't an interesting or fun substitute for fishing for one yourself.
As far as Ham radio, there is an interesting and fun substitute for communicating with people from a handheld device. It's called a cell phone. There is an interesting and fun substitute for communicating with people all over the world without an HF rig and antenna. It's called the Internet and Skype. Those are the points you are missing.
A cellphone is a phone!--exactly like the old black Bakelite thing on the wall back in the day!
We have had International Subscriber Dialling since the 1960s,so if I wanted to,& didn't mind the bills,I could have randomly rung people all over the world back then.
Skype is basically a way to get cheap phone calls using the Internet---interesting & fun?
The Internet itself,---yeah,you can have arguments on forums like this,watch videos,& all sorts of stuff,but these things should also distract people from all the other activities I referred to.
My question is still,why should Ham Radio have to prove its relevance?
Going online and letting millions of dollars worth of Commercial communications system make a contact for you isn't "an interesting or fun substitute" for making one yourself.
Interesting to "young people"?
Young people turn inexorably in to middle aged,& then,old people,whose interests may be very different.
I don't really see that much growth in Ham Radio coming from the really young,but more from the 40s & older group.