I know I could duckduckgo it, but I think we're at the stage at lemmy where there's space to ask basic questions.
What is it? Why does it matter? Users at which lunix proficiency level should care about it? Is it just yet another competing standard or is x actually going to die?
In short, Wayland is a protocol for graphics.
It's somewhat similar to X, as its main purpose is the same, however the archivecture is very different, and Wayland is much simpler/barebone.
If X is going to die or not — only time will tell. For now it can be considered another competing standard.