Dear @fishsauce, That is a beautiful way of summarizing it.

Honestly, I think the iterations are not what really matter. The depth of each iteration is what makes more of a difference.
For example, the depth of virtual reality nowadays is so great that people tend to "want to" live in it more than living in their real lives. Games, social media, "reality" made-up TV shows, TV series and social platforms. What's even more pronounced is that younger generations are especially more susceptible to these things than older generations.
Just listen to what old people say about the way they used to play outside with their friends, while kids of this era are mesmerized by video games of all sorts.