I wonder if people had the same sense of measured change that we seem to have about culture through decades. We can say things like "back in the 80s" or "in the early 2000s" and others can instantly tune-in to what we're saying. I feel like the rapid change in technology the world has experienced in the 20th/21st century deeply plays into this. For example, I can talk with my dad about how "back in the day" he could remember where to place the needle on a vinyl record to play a particular song he wanted to hear, whereas now I can just pick a song in a playlist.