I can't speculate on what the world was like back in the 1900's, 1800's, etc. Wasn't alive, can only assume what a majority of people were like during those era's. I can say that I find today's world and society, at least American to be in the shitter.
Where do I begin...
We have groups today that don't respect other peoples rights. There are vegan extremists out there that will attack other people and businesses to try and make a point. A video was going around not too along ago where a group of vegan/animal right activists harassing a couple of fishers just minding their own business. The vegan group makes a big scene because the fish they put on the cement (someone went to fetch a bucket), was suffocating.
Blah blah blah, fish gets tossed back in the river, fishers get pissed off, end of video.
I personally don't care much for these groups. I can't hold a conversation with an animal, they don't solve any world wide issues, nor are they making any innovating technologies that would revolutionize society. So why would I place their rights equal or sometimes better than a human being? If people want animals to have equal rights, then they better get a fucking job and pay my mortgage.
Here's a better scenario: A meteor is going to hit the Earth in less than 72 hours, and we have to scramble a team of engineers to detonate the meteor to avert disaster (sound familiar?

Another thing I will never understand are safe spaces. I thought this was some sick joke but it's actually true and universities and colleges have implemented them for the incredibly weak and/or ignorant minded people. Pretty soon, history will be completely re-written into a teletubby version to accommodate their fragile minds. Wars were fought with hugs and kisses and no one ever died, ever.
The reason why this is such an incredible problem is because these places are meant to challenge thought and ideas. When you start catering to everyone who simply can't accept other spectrums of thought without even listening, which is one of the most basic things a person can do, then it completely defeats the purpose of learning. The biggest offending topics that folks in my generation have flipped their shit over are the LGBQT labeling (like bathroom separation, is or is not a mental illness, transgenders should be called "he or she for respective target gender", etc.), abortion, and our most recent presidential election. God forbid if you mention Trump in a positive light ANYWHERE in Portland, OR.
This is the same bullshit when I was coming into basic training. Stress cards are these little red cards you give to a drill sergeant when they are being "too harsh". Oh f*ck off...I can go on for days as to why the military has gone completely soft, and why these stupid ass cards are the wrong answer for something that was never a problem. But these stupid things are the basic equivalent of safe spaces.
No one is capable of actually debating anymore. It has now become a screaming match. If person can yell over another person during an argument, they win! *Confetti spray*
I'm no patron saint of the art of debating or arguing because I will call someone stupid if they blatantly display ignorance on a topic I believe I have some knowledge on, but there are folks out there who take it to the nth degree and blow me straight out of the water. No sources will ever be provided, everything will come from the top of their head, and they will always forever think that whatever topic it is that they are weighing on, that their opinion is more validated than everyone elses, and may whatever God you pray to have mercy on your pitiful soul if you even attempt to show them why they're wrong. I can't even watch a fucking cat video anymore without hovering down to a comments section just to see some stupid bullshit someone posted.
Let's take this for example: A doctor shows you that you have cancer and need immediate treatment. You scream at him because you watched a youtube video from Infowars that cancer doesn't exist and also because you were raised in a good Christian home, therefor, you are healthy. Doctor explains why you have little to no time left and why your reasons are idiotic. You don't listen and storm out like a five year old. You die a week later because cancer.
That's basically the equivalent here. If you have 0 knowledge on whatever topic you are about to weigh in on, hold that thought for a moment, and then just let it go. Let it roam free away. You'll be a lot smarter for it.
That's all that can come to my mind at the moment, but this just scratches the surface.
Edit - Technology! Not that it's a bad thing, it's a good thing, it has given us a plethora of comforts, but with all good things, people will manage a way to take a good thing, and take a flaccid dump over it.
Take a cell phone for example. What was actually a pretty useful tool, a handheld device capable of communicating with anyone on a whim, has now become one of the dumbest fucking things people fawn over. "NEW IPHONE S8 GALAXY JUPITER TO MARS RELEASED! OVER 10,000 BRAIN DEAD APPS READY TO BE INSTALLED! BUY NOW FOR ONLY 10 EASY PAYMENTS OF $100!". Aside from the massive pricks that can't put their phone away for more than five seconds at a time, the cell phone tied with Facebook has easily made everyone more distant from one another. Social gatherings? There's an app for it. Dating? App. Shopping? App.
It's stupid, people don't have any incentive whatsoever to interact with one another. You can do everything on your phone! Bonus points if you pull your phone out while you're driving. I recommend a mountain pass where the roads turn frequently. If you're lucky, you'll barrel through a barrier and careen off a cliff! Too much work for you? There's an app for that.
I love the idea of a cellphone and being able to communicate with anyone at any given time. Hell, I have one of those new androids, only because I wanted the camera to take dick pictures and a decent WiFi connection, so all my conquer club needs can be met. But everyone else who can't even put their phone down to just look someone in the eye and have an actual heart to heart conversation? Lost cause.
I have an unyielding hatred for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or whatever. Major contributors to what I believe is going to be a major issue in the future, when someone actually looks up and notices that there are real people merely feet away.
Another undying hatred for is electronic applications. What happened to the dressing to impress, showing up and asking for an application, and a quick introduction as to whom you are? Now we have this generic look-alike applications with no face or personality behind them (unless you include a picture, but...why?). I don't know where exactly this craze was catching on, but it boggles the mind.
Speaking of sensitive people earlier, I don't understand how any sane person can argue that being obese is healthy. It isn't, not by a long shot. Porking down on McDonalds everyday as your go-to-choice for every course meal is not a healthy decision, and it should rightfully be condemned. If you look like that blueberry kid from William Wonka and the chocolate factory, there's a good chance that your food choices suck ass, and you should immediately change your diet. You don't even need to go to the gym for it! It certainly would expedite the process a lot quicker if you did go to the gym, but I won't say you should go, because I hate the gym. Fat shaming be praised, if it gets lard ass to eat healthier, then my job is complete and you're welcome.
I like the hypocrites though that prowl Facebook non-stop as some sort of internet police force, looking for any models or aspiring models just so they can shame them for showing too much skin. Usually fat old women that haven't been laid in thirty years with a cooter smelling like crawfish.
Another thing, going back to weightless opinions, I'm so sick of shitty journalists doing a shitty job on reporting, and they should immediately be fired, and go back to college to re-earn their degree. Guns for example. If I see one more idiot think that an AR-15 means Assault Rifle - 15, I'll punch a baby.
This is exactly why I think journalism is in the gutter right now. These ass hats make a business on reporting misery because misery sells. But when a journalist can't even get basic facts straight, and makes a weightless unbiased opinion that people treat as fact, it causes a problem. Bullet buttons! BULLET BUTTONS!