Do you think the US, in particular, is behind the curve? Tesla alone is pushing the boundries of current public technology by making electric cars much more available to the consumer. Microsoft's OS is being used all around the world. And Google... don't even start: they're owning their game, as much as one stereolythic entity could own a game at such a scale.

I see your point. The US may host some of the most powerful software engineers at Microsoft and Google etc., but an average citizen isn't doing that good with tech. Even the White House is pitching in on the problem.

It may have something to do with the fact that people are getting "on defensive" — which is what nationalism is all about: "My tribe is good, the rest can go kiss a wall": less connectivity could lead to less exposure to the opposing opinions. That being said, some of the most popular online information and entertainment options — Facebook, YouTube — limit the user to the opinions which they have already expressed. You saw an Alex Jones video? Here's another one! — and a different one, saying what some other person thought of that, too! That way, you rarely get to see the other side speak — if there even is "the other side" to speak — unless you go out of your way to go looking for it.