In general I shy away from statements lamenting the current state of things because they usually rely on an incorrect assumption that things were better in the past, and this extends from "critical thinking is dead" to "they don't make 'em like they used to" to "kids these days." Kids have always been "kids these days," they didn't make 'em like they used to 50 years ago either, and I'd wager most people throughout history didn't care to examine the underlying themes of art and literature.

That said, it does honestly feel like shit is getting worse right now.