Standards have changed. In the olden times, people were pressured by society and upbringing to stick with their families and family members, no matter how toxi

Standards have changed. In the olden times, people were pressured by society and upbringing to stick with their families and family members, no matter how toxic and dysfunctional and abusive they were. These days, people are more individualistic and it's socially acceptable to sever contact with toxic family members, even your own parents. It's just like divorce: 100 years ago, it simply wasn't acceptable to divorce your spouse, even if your husband was physically abusive and breaking your arms. These days, that's changed and you can not only get the police to intervene, you can divorce him and move on with your life. So now, more and more, people only associate with their family members if they're a positive asset in their lives, not someone causing them misery. And, of course, you mainly hear about all the people who got tired of their shitty relatives and cut them out of their lives, while you rarely hear about the people who love and value their wonderful relatives, because the latter people don't go on social media to complain about their lives or ask "am I the asshole for cutting contact with my narcissistic mother who said she wished I had never been born?". As for romantic partners, here again it's higher expectations. 100 years ago, people were ostracized if they didn't get married by a certain age, so they settled for the best they could get, which in many cases was a shitty and possibly abusive partner. These days, it's mostly acceptable to just stay single if you can't find someone that you really enjoy having in your life. I'd say, overall, it's a big improvement.