This..... op had it right but yet he was so wrong, that problem is we don't have Mom's who stay at home and raise their kids anymore.
On top of that add 24/7 News, Reality TV that isn't reality, and social media........
I propose to add cell phones, email and txtng to that list.
Back when communication was less available, it "cost" more and people put more thought and effort into it. When writing letters was the primary form of long-distance communication, folks stopped and put a decent amount of thought into what they were writing. Compare that to the average tweet on Twatter.
As a parallel, when photos were taken on a roll of film, photographers tried to optimize each shot due to limited amounts of film and the cost and time needed to develop a print. Now, you can shoot 1000 photos (of your appetizer platter at Applebee's
) at near-zero cost. Similarly, film cameras vs. video - quantity has replaced quality on average.
Hell, maybe even answering machines should be on the list. Before them, if you missed someone, you called back. Once answering machines came on the scene, you had an expectation of being called back, so patience was less necessary. Now, with cell phones & texting, some people come unglued if they don't get an answer within hours or even minutes.
Quantity of communication has largely replaced quality of communication. Words used to be more important because people felt obligated to put more thought into what they wrote. Even typewriters were a responsibility because copy/paste wasn't a thing. You couldn't CC (carbon copy) more than a few people. Now, you can "reply all" with "OMG WTF LOL #BLM" and broadcast your "thoughts" to 100s instantly.
Consumer products have become value-engineered (cheapened), disposable plastic crap destined for a landfill within 10 years. A few years back, one neighbor was replacing a 7 year old fridge (with a TV in the door . . . because refrigerator
) while another still had a 1950s GE fridge humming away in his garage. Progress? Maybe not.
Our products (tangible products and composed communication) used to cost us more (time and money) so the producers generally had to make them to last. Now, the trend is toward disposable crap - appliances that last through the (1-7) year warranty only, and shittweets or shitposts that need only last long enough to be read.
Patience and stoicism were / are admirable traits.
I'll take them over "me now" and #metoo any day.