The retired member of the military cited in the OP probably remembers the post-was boom in Canada as the good old days. And they were. The broad, sustained prosperity that North America experienced after WW2 was pretty much unmatched in history. But the conditions that fostered that prosperity were unique (the rest of the world was either bombed to pieces and needed to be rebuilt, or was still half a century behind the West in the progress scale). Using 1945 to 1970 North America as your frame of reference is bound to leave you disappointed and nostalgic.
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Originally Posted by CroFlames
So while you are alone, yes, you are more connected in this day and age more than ever. However, I think the connectedness is leading more and more people to seek out being alone. I.e.: they'd RATHER text/email/digitally communicate than actually talk and or meet up.
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Absolutely. Even unexpected phone calls are now considered an impolite social misstep by digital natives. I've seen a bunch of 19-year-olds out the bar and they aren't even speaking to one another - and they're the ones who are supposed to be doing the cool, fun thing while the friends they're texting are at home or at work. I know a couple recently-divorced 40-something guys who quickly found rather nice 30-ish girlfriends. It seems the guys their age don't know how to sustain a conversation in person, so the older guys are charming and sophisticated in comparison.
The collapse of religion, the family, and now face-to-face socialization (not to mention exposure to nature and the outdoors) are undoubtedly leaving gaping holes in the emotional well-being of a great many people. It remains to be seen what those holes will be filled with. Consumerism and digital hedonism have their limits. I expect pseudo-religious beliefs and identities will eventually fill the gap, but exactly what form they'll take is unclear.