Go to a supermarket, look around at how many candies and sodas now use artificial sweetener instead of plain sugar. It's certainly on the increase over the past 20 years if you look back historically at it's usage, and it seems to be increasing annually.
Look at how Pepsi phased out Sierra Mist in favor of the new "Starry" soda which is made with more artificial sweetener. This lets them advertise lower calories on the label, while selling a sweeter beverage people will buy.
I used to love buying malted beverages and energy drinks occasionally because I enjoy trying new flavors. However over the past five+ years, I've noticed a lot more brands sneaking in artificial sweeteners. Look at Mountain Dew - they recently started a line of alcohol-infused beverages which interested me. But go figure they were absolutely terrible - they tasted nothing like classic mountain dew with al that fake sugar. I threw them out lol.