I kind of see it as the other way round. The emphasis should have been on aerosol spread from much earlier and the new variants (and lower general spread) have forced the issue to the front of the queue. Super-spreader individuals and events have always been the great randomisers in the R number debate.
I blame that movie, Contagion and all those images of fomite spread
To be fair the, meet outside, "open the windows" advice was always there (in the UK at least) but it tended to get lost in the other advice about cleaning surfaces, groceries, deliveries etc. It then drowned in the silly debates about whether it was ok to sit on a bench and drink a coffee during a walk in the park, and actions like chaining off play equipment. Personally, I suspect some of the outdoor rules made indoor rule-breaking more common - but that may be influenced by what I've seen rather than what's generally happened.