[travbrack]

Because we went from living in a world where information about the world around us was hidden, to suddenly having access to all of it. It's surprising, jarring and overwhelming and it's probably going to take multiple generations for people to figure out how to use it effectively, ignore the noise, and deal with the social issues created by it.

[JKCalhoun]

Yes, but also, as the author points out in several places, we lived in a world of serendipity, patience, boredom (in a good way ... something that might lead to a kind of forced contemplation?).

One wonders the degree to which our mental health actually thrived better with that extra time, accidental rather than deliberate discovery.