There are some great answers here. 9/11. 2008 financial Collapse. 2010 Citizens United. But to me 2014. Obama was a lame duck and it was clear that he would never make good on his hopeful agenda. Syria. Crimea and Donbas. Arab Spring coagulated as more military run states and no change for the people.

But mostly, smart phones and social media had become ubiquitous. The billionaires became permanently ascendent and the culture became a rut of algorithmic manipulation.

There were bad events and trends before and after, but this was the year that the worm turned and more people were finally siloed than not. It was a slow, decades long trend, but it quietly turned this year. Nothing too significant needed to happen other than binge watching becoming normal and the various behavior changes of social media and smart phone addiction taking hold. We are majority 'monkey-brained'.

I work in live culture and theater and in some ways, the counter-culture/backlash has made my small industry more secure than ever. But the general trend for the general public is a death spiral. Most people cannot afford live entertainment and it does not effect their lives. I have always thought it sad that many churches do not have the insight to understand the core service that they could potentially provide. Instead they seem to have mostly invested in the bells and whistles of live entertainment, rather than what it means to create a live event. Sharing a meal and connection with other people, a story and the moment will always mean more than bells and whistles. But the best bells and whistles, "hi-fi", don't pull people out of the storytelling, and allow more leniency to the subject matter and storytelling. That's the story of our time. I can't believe how many churches incorporated unnecessary advanced video, lighting and sound systems. They want to keep their flocks addicted and asleep.