Hasn't this always been the case? I think specifically of Dr. Laura (who I suspect you may not be familiar with). My mom listened to a lot of her ranting in the car. She was very believable - she presented a consistent narrative, some catchy phrases, and an absolute lack of nuace and she sorted through people's personal problems. However, most of what she said (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) was the same shoddy wisdom applied to a new situation. I imagine 100 years ago there was some social equivalent of a guru to tell you how to navigate your way through life's problems, and it all made sense if you didn't think about it too critically.