Genuine Question

Nearly everyone in my family and the other people I know grew up without air conditioning. In summer afternoons, an indoor temperature of 80-85°F (27-29.5°C) was not unusual, and the only cooling effect in the home came from open windows and electric fans. Dealing with temperatures this warm on a daily basis was not unusual, nor do I think it was even something they often thought much about or complained about. It was just normal. But now, they keep their homes no warmer than 72°F (22.2°C), are willing to spend over $100 of their monthly electric bill on air conditioning alone, go out of their way to avoid visiting a place without air conditioning, and say they're "dying" when a single bead of sweat appears on their foreheads.

You will find people saying, "Letting the inside of your home get humid is bad for x or y in the home," when x or y never suffered in their humid homes when they were younger. They'll also say they think it dangerous to be in a home that is not air-conditioned, when they survived it with no issues in the same climate when they were younger. It's even to the point that if you go over someone's house and you see windows open and fans on, people assume your air conditioning is broken. For why else would someone resort to totally sufficient and energy-efficient ways of cooling on a 27°C (80°F) day?

So my question is, what happened? I get that people are USED to air conditioning now. But why have we gotten to the point where air conditioning has brainwashed them into submission to its eternal authority, and where it has made them forget of their own lives without it before?