Just like what sighmeupforthat said, we see the same thing with how 'safe' things are. Statistically, we here in the U.S. are safer than we were in the past. The difference is that with internet and the current attitude of the media, we see and hear about every single thing that happens. Weve had murderers, rapists, kidnappers, terrorists, etc forever. But, 35 years ago when I was a kid, you only knew about the high profile or local cases...and many times law enforcement wouldnt let people know, because they felt it would cause a panic. Weve had all these other issues for most of human history....the differences are that many of these things were not "acceptable" to talk about, or just not known outside of family and close friends, if even that. People arent any more "pathetic and sensitive" than before...its just that they are more open about it than thet were allowed to in the past, and through social media, and the speed and bredth of the internet age, we are just more aware of it than before.