My initial reaction when I first heard this genderS nonsense was that it was prank or parody that took off with people taking it seriously which in turn played into the joke.
I still can't get rid of that feeling.
Whether or not that's the case, it's still a distraction and divider, like you pointed out.
Besides, these kids nowadays have no siblings, no friends, not much of family life, so they need something to fill that void from not belonging.