My mother used to talk about the commercialization of America and used to attribute the rise in crime at least partially to people (usually young) who had come, thanks to ads, to feel "entitled" to the goodies displayed. As if they should have whatever it was. "You deserve..."

She was born in 1918 and she said her childhood memories included Burma-Shave signs, an occasional ad on the side of a barn, and now and then a poster glued to a fence.

She said that the commercialization of America really started to gather steam during the 50's with the return of the GIs from Europe and Africa and the Pacific, the glorification of the unitary family and the ubiquitousness of TV. (no, of course there isn't such a word. but there should be.)

The second half of the 20th century had an acceleration of those trends--louder, faster, more intense, more manipulative. By the time she died in 2001...well, you can fill in that part for yourself.