Terrence Tao—the above average mathematician—notices we have individual friendships and mega corporations and huge groups. Small groups, the kind you can have meaningful influence on, have declined. Worth reading.
It also reminds me of Neil Postman’s thing about the change in the meaning of community. From “people proximate to me and my house” to “people with a shared interest with me.”
I think another big loss of those smaller level communities is that uncomfortable interactions with people who think very differently from oneself happen within them, but in a way much unlike interacting with the celebrity sound bite or news headline. You will also sometimes encounter a “perspective” or “viewpoint” within the context of that perceivers experience (“I prioritize X because when I was younger Y happened”). That is, the sort of interaction that contextualizes a view in a way that is more likely to sway your sympathies or at least make you listen for understanding.