We visited in May for a week. It's been about a decade since we last visited. Any difference in the way it changed to me is almost certainly driven by me being 46 years old and not having anything in common with people on Bourbon street.
We were a group of 8 mostly 20-somethings and never felt unsafe for a minute. We stayed off Carondelet St, walked everywhere except when we left for a swamp tour and spent the day at City Park. Plenty of time spent in the quarter and frenchman at all hours of the day and night. No issues for us.