Wesley was obviously supposed to draw in young viewers, but when I first watched Trek, I must have been some 10-12 years old yet I didn't care about Wesley. I only cared about the adults and the aliens on the show and was annoyed whenever anything was about Wes. I don't know if this is representative for most young TNG viewers, but it's probably not a good sign if even the target demographic doesn't want to see him.
That said, I believe the Wesley hate is at least in part him being a lightning rod for TNG S1 hate. Because he played prominent parts in infamous episodes like The Naked Now and Justice, so that's possibly what many associate him most with.