People have always cursed or otherwise used vulgar or coarse language, of course, but the difference was that they did so mostly in private, not very much in public, and almost never in mixed company or in front of children. When coarse language was heard in public, it was mild compared to today. People simply did not casually and unashamedly toss around F- and S-bombs in their ordinary speech like they do today. Could you find pockets of it? Sure (I was in the military; I could provide many examples), but that would virtually universally be in specialized populations or circumstances, not general society.
This is part of a larger phenomenon that some sociologists have called "the death of ought." IOW, a growing percentage of people do not do things or avoid things because they think they "ought to" or "ought not to" but only because they "want to" or "don't want to." They have no sense of ought, only of want. They see themselves as having zero responsibilities toward their neighbors or toward the community as a whole.
As an example, I was in a local supermarket recently and passed by the customer service counter. A man was berating the girl behind the counter using extremely foul language, including the F-bomb. (I don't know why he wasn't already tossed by security for abusing an employee, but that's another question.) After just thirty seconds, I couldn't stand any more of it and told the man to stop using such foul language in front of the children who were present. He started unloading on me, of course. "Who the F do you think you are, telling me what I can and can't say, wherever the F I F-ing well please?" I turned to the employees in customer service and said, "Are you going to allow that to continue?" They just sorta impotently raised their hands as if to say, "We're not getting involved." When those being abused think they can't or shouldn't do something, whatever I try to do will have zero effect, so I just walked away.
Because of the death of ought, a growing percentage of people self-centeredly think they should be able to do whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, with no consequences to themselves, and no matter the consequences to other people. Many believe it's a growing problem, with long-term negative consequences for the cohesiveness of society.
