Oh no, say it ain't so.

Lots of BS in that article. And yes, I know that it is being done somewhat with tongue in cheek, but there are certainly a lot of people that take these mostly false stereotypes as being true. And they tend to use the term "audiophile" in a derogatory way.

It is based entirely on the premise, that being an audiophile is somehow inferior to being a music lover.

First of all, all that the term audiophile means, is a person who is enthusiastic about hi-fidelity sound reproduction.

Wouldn’t that describe everyone that owns home audio gear?

As far as using music to listen to one’s gear, as opposed to using one’s gear to listen to music, this is creating a false dichotomy.

For the vast majority of my listening time, I am ignoring my gear and am fully engrossed with the music.

But there are other times, maybe a couple of hours every couple of weeks, that I can have a hell of a lot of fun, only "using music to listen to my gear". I will play only "audiophile approved recordings" and only listen to how well my system is reproducing them.

So, for the 90%, or more time, I spend listening to the music without listening to the gear, am I a music lover and not an audiophile? And then, for those other times, I become an audiophile? Funny, I feel like the same person, during both types of listening sessions.

Of course not. I am always an audiophile, and I am always a music lover.

Yep, this is the clickbait junk we've come to expect from headphonesty. Sometimes they have a slightly interesting topic worthy of more discussion (e.g. KEF driver issues), but this one - nope. Who cares? Some of us enjoy music AND gear. That's why we're here. There's no inherent superiority in being a "more pure" music lover.

I am feeling pretty positive about myself.

I only answered "yes" to 8 out of 10 questions.

One day at a time.

According to that I am definitely not an Audiophile. Though I wonder if it makes a difference that I judge people who use Spotify out in the open?

I think ‘tongue in cheek’ is more apropos description than ‘Click Bait.’ If you can’t laugh at yourself, you need an attitude adjustment.
Disclaimer: I checked all the boxes!