I firmly believe that social media is the largest culprit here, although the modern internet in general to be more accurate. It dramatically changed how people interact with people, regardless of distance. Before this shift people interacted with much fewer people because they had much fewer means of reliably communicating with them. Relationships were much more personal because it required physical proximity. This also meant that you had to be more careful in what you say to others because you had fewer bridges to burn.
With the modern internet one can create countless bridges with people they never would have interacted with had the technology not existed. Thus the loss of an individual relationship is not so impacting. With the rise of the Keyboard Warrior where the person can hide behind some anonymous or pseudo-anonymous identity they have become more brazen in how they interact with others. This naturally extends to other means of interactions, including public transit.
I firmly believe that social media is the largest culprit here, although the modern internet in general to be more accurate. It dramatically changed how people interact with people, regardless of distance. Before this shift people interacted with much fewer people because they had much fewer means of reliably communicating with them. Relationships were much more personal because it required physical proximity. This also meant that you had to be more careful in what you say to others because you had fewer bridges to burn.
With the modern internet one can create countless bridges with people they never would have interacted with had the technology not existed. Thus the loss of an individual relationship is not so impacting. With the rise of the Keyboard Warrior where the person can hide behind some anonymous or pseudo-anonymous identity they have become more brazen in how they interact with others. This naturally extends to other means of interactions, including public transit.