I think I’ve marked the point at which society started to settle into its present form. It occurred around the 1950s, coinciding with the popularization of broadcast television. I doubt this is a coincidence; something fundamental was altered with the advent of real-time visual broadcast media.

It may have also been due to the effects of WWII modernization and the intensification of the cold war after WWII ended, but I would think the trend would have stopped by now if this were the case.