Yes, I think a lot of this is very real and happening so fast to us that we’re not always aware of how much things are changing (and what it means for things like the future of music, movies, books, art, as well as politics.)  

Like anything, the “holy wifi” as they say in Parasite, has its yin and yang. It has united people (including us on this forum), granted people greater access to joy and information (alas plenty of it is bad information) and spurred more creative content than anyone ever dreamed might exist. But it has also created a world where people feel increasingly divided and alienated from others as we all retreat into our little private cocoons.

The loss of a shared culture is pretty huge.   In 1969, if you were young and hip and in almost any country that had radio and record stores, you listened to the Beatles. It was something everyone of that time shared in common, like a family. Same was true of certain movies, or TV shows, or events. But now you have Billy in his bedroom listening to some obscure grime on his phone while Sally’s watching a Korean TV show on Netflix and Dad’s still buying Miles Davis on vinyl while Mom’s watching Baby Yoda on Disney Channel … and they’re each having totally different experiences that don't connect. And, as a you’ve said, a consequence of this is that it’s infinitely harder for anyone to be a culture-changing icon because mass culture itself doesn’t really exist any more. You can't shake up a culture that is already completely scattered all over the place!  So you can't have a Dylan or a James Dean or even an Oasis (they got in just under the wire.)  

This has been driven home to me this last week while looking at a bunch of “Best Albums of 2021” lists online. There is almost no consensus at all!  I’ve seen entire lists of 25 albums that share nothing in common with other lists. That would not have been the case in 1969.