parent edited their comment which originally was just the first paragraph about centralised control, I suppose that's what you are replying to.
Obviously it is hard to quantify control so I don't have hard numbers to present, but I ask you: can you name a more efficient surveillance device than a smartphone?
Note that smartphones became ubiquitous very recently, I would say during the last 10 to 15 years (before that, they did exist but were used by a tiny minority of people).
I can: people. If you think that mass surveillance requires technology you haven't seen what, for example, eastern European regimes we're able to accomplish. Stasi [0] would be the first such example.
By sheer numbers this has likely been the "peak centralized control of lives".
Clearly that's the prominent fact and claim to be proved out.
It is certainly the most important claim discussed, but it's concerning that we have to wonder whether you intend to question the shifting of opinions instead of the claim.