People should stop saying “I bought the VHS”. It’s a tape, or a video, or a VHS tape, it’s not “a VHS”. Likewise, it is a VCR, not a “VHS player”. This seems to be a new trend.
Regarding this subject, I don’t think it’s a “new trend”. I grew up using VHS tapes a lot in the early 2000s with parents who would have used tapes in the format’s prime, and when I was little people called them whatever they felt like. Everyone said “a VHS” and “VHS player” at one time or another.
I’m not saying that my experience is any more valid than your own (it’s most definitely not), but I think it’s a non-issue.