You're right that there's been more social change, but that social change has been largely driven by technological change. People are organizing in ways that weren't possible 20 years ago.
Sure, yes. A lot of the social change is made possible by technology, as you say.
But...the net effect,
from my point of view, is that the world feels
smaller because the overall scope hasn't changed all that much, but things happen more quickly. 20 years ago if somebody was shot and we wanted to get the word out, we'd have published it in an underground newspaper and it would have taken days for the news to spread. Now, it goes on twitter, and as you point out, you can have your mob organized in half an hour.
What was once a group project requiring organized and determined action by a group of radicals is now no more complicated than calling up a friend for lunch. What was once separated by days is now separated by minutes. Those "far off" Russians in that "foreign country on the opposite side of the world" of my youth have becomes people you play games with online and it doesn't even matter where they live. You can interact with them just as easily as your neighbor.
The world is no larger, but the ease of communication makes it feel smaller.
That's not a bad thing. I'm not saying I want to go back to using smoke signals. I like email. But the nature of life and change feels less grandiose than it used to.
You also measure things by comparison to Star Trek a lot
Star Trek was an inspiration to my generation. The current generation is inspired by what? American Idol? Fear Factor?
Again...not intended to exclusively disparage the changes I've seen. Some things have definitely changed for the better. Some things...maybe not so much. But even the things that have changed for the better have mostly been a matter of convenience and comfort, rather than matters of awe and majesty.
My parents generation cried when for the first time in recorded history, humans beings set foot on a world besides planet earth. My generation cried when the first shuttle launched and the nations of planet earth that once lived in fear of planetary genocide through mutually assured destruction set side their differences to work together to build an international space station.
The current generation cries when somebody says mean things about Britney Spears.