I think that's just the way it's been going for the past few years. I live down here in OC, and since about 99-00, the sportbike thing has been catching on big time, at least from what i noticed. I think the lane-splitting at high speeds can be attributed to the fact that there's just more people with bikes on the freeway, and with that will come more squids.
My roommate just got a new bike awhile bike, a brand new F4i (when F4is were still the shiz) and he just started lane splitting all over...but he never split at red lights. I don't understand his logic for that, but I tried to tell him to take it easy, being that he's a brand spanking new rider...but some people think that because they ride bikes in the first place, they're God's gift to the motorworld.
I was part of a bike club that I won't name, but it was located at a university in SoCal. They would go riding on the weekends, and I have to say that just about everyone ate it at least once. I think it's because testosterone got into the equation and they just threw caution to the wind. I'm no riding guru by far, but I wish the license requirements were more stringent when issuing to those under 30 (I'm 23).
Living in Southern Cali makes access to fresh seafood easy, but we just have too many damn squids.