Some scholars would argue that this began with the era of the phonograph, the telephone, and the airplane. I tend to agree - we've been in this for a long time.

Some scholars would argue that this began with the era of the phonograph, the telephone, and the airplane. I tend to agree - we've been in this for a long time. Authenticity and 'the genuine' were discussed obsessively by (all?) early 20th Century thinkers in response to the first signs of the beginning of our modern social experience.