I do absolutely get where you are coming from Robyn. The writing and imagery do come from two different places. We can write as a writer, but the challenge I see is that making the writing available to the public in anyway is publishing. Medium is a form of publishing, just like a magazine, book, or blog post. Of course, the writing needs a hook, but a block of writing will rarely stop a scroll, unless the headline is very enticing.
Thinking about it that is a part of why I would prefer to use my own images. Grabbing something from Unsplash for an image to me feels disconnected from the writing.
It is unfortunate that people tend towards the visual but that is just how the majority have developed. Why else would there be so much money spent in visual creation for advertising.
Thank you for reading.