I see mentions to recessions and/or high gas prices = less out of state hunters. I don't think this will have a notable impact. Non res hunters are typically not your low or even middle income folks. If you can afford to fly halfway across the country, rent a car, buy thousands of dollars of gear and hunt, you are likely in a position where you don't necessarily care about $1000-$2000 added to your overall expenses. Recessions don't impact middle-upper / upper income households NEARLY as much as lower-middle income households.
Regarding social media's impact, I see the pros and the cons.
Yes, it has definitely glamorized hunting and added a bunch of new people to the sport. The influx of folks sucks to those of us that experienced hunting before it was the "cool" thing to do.
However, in turn this is MILLIONS of dollars being added to annual budgets for habitat improvement, surveys/studies, wildlife management, and so-on. It's also a fact that hunter numbers have been declining across the country. If we don't promote hunting, we don't get hunters. If we don't get hunters, we don't get funding. Tough problem to solve and change is hard. Interested to see how this pans out over the next few years to see if the trend continues.