[legitster]

Was this a problem the internet invented? It used to be that no one seemingly cared and everyone reclined their seat as soon as takeoff was over. I guess the modern era is creating new unwritten social contracts.

For what it's worth - I never mind. I get to partake in the miracle of flight. And they only give you, like, 3 inches of recline anyway. Just take it.

[waqf]

Seat pitch has decreased significantly since the internet was invented. It's hard to take seriously any discussion that doesn't take that into account.

(Also, a lot more people have laptops than in the '90s. IME it's not possible to use laptops in coach if the seat in front is at all reclined, though I seldom see this mentioned.)

[legitster]

Yeah, I notice that too. When I bring a laptop there's about 50/50 chance I can actually use it.

Still, miracle of flight and all that. Still beats walking.

[sofixa]

I think you might be comparing different things and making the wrong conclusion. Before "the modern era and Internet" there was much more place on airplanes' seats. Squeezing every millimetre of space is a new(-ish, it's been what, 10-15 years now) trend born out of low cost competitors doing that and severely undercutting legacy carriers, who replicate. So if everyone reclined 30 years ago, it still probably resulted in more space available for everyone compared to today, even in a non-reclined configuration.

[drivingmenuts]

The problem was invented by airlines squeezing passengers into sardine-appropriate seating arrangements.

Voicing the problem has been amplified due to the internet.

[tanseydavid]

This pre-dates the Internet (or at least WWW) by a considerable amount of time.

It was controversial to some back when you could still smoke on a plane.

EDIT: I agree with other posters that this became a bigger problem as the airlines reduced seat space over time.