A camera is a tool, and a software is a tool too.
You can use PP moderatly, or profusely. In most of the medias, 99% of the readers are only attracted by spectacular photographs, flashy renderings and perfect skins. Maybe people think the real life is boring and they want to dream. Or someone could call it "Aesthetics for the masses".
So, in the digital era, if the photographer wants to meet this expectation, a shot is only the first step of the digital production chain.
In my case, I use RAW+Lightroom. Sometimes I play with effects, sometimes I deal with simplicity. Depends on my feeling.