[freedomben]

It's all part of the continued infantilization of our society. Well-meaning people want to protect everyone from every possible bump on the head, so they wrap the entire playground in bubble wrap (see relevant Simpsons episode).

The level of paternalism is also a positive feedback loop. The more paternalistic we are, the more we need to become because people rely on the guardrails and never learn about the danger. Then at some point they climb the guardrails, assuming that if it was dangerous to climb the guardrails then they would be bigger and less penetrable, more signs and padlocks, etc. So then we make the guardrails bigger. Rinse and repeat ad finitum.