Nah. Some bits of the 20th century were about improvement. The 21st has been about spiralling growth and consumption and everything getting worse than before,

Nah. Some bits of the 20th century were about improvement. The 21st has been about spiralling growth and consumption and everything getting worse than before, although sometimes it's briefly shiny. In software, in hardware, in human life on the planet Earth. Once you accept this, things make more sense and it's easier to relate to people born into this world and their jaded detachment. 20th century "modern" -- better, improved, refined. 21st century "modern" -- given a coat of paint, looks shiny, but underneath it's the same old junk, just worn out and creaking and failing, but rebranded and sold as NEW.