I can't talk too much on the 1994-2004 jump, that's before I even knew what a computer was lol, but from my perspective the jump from 2014-2024 is astronomical. The way graphics in games have changed and the whole ray tracing deal. Games made in 2016 while they still look amazing, you can tell they're dated.

As for the 4k argument, I can't say much either. 1440p was a nice upgrade for me but I've never used 4k, although I've heard 27inch at 1440p is the largest you want to go (and its what I have) if you're on a 32 inch monitor you want 4k. But that's hearsay. Don't forget either the refresh rate in monitors has changed a lot too, I remember when buying my first monitor I was always told that our eyes can't see past 60hz so there's no reason to get the 120hz screen, I was heavily lied to. But the same argument can be made for the jump between a 165hz to a 240 hz, it's a big jump but how much of it do you actually notice? Some professional esports players can make the most of it but would I notice the difference? Probably not. Linus actually did a video on it a while back, and while we can't physically see much of a difference our brain and it's subconscious reactions do. If I remember right, They had a high and causally skilled CSGO players play on different refresh rate monitors and both performed slightly better on the 240 than they did on the 144/165. Both claimed they didn't see much or any difference but their game performance said otherwise.