I suspect this will hold true for the 21st century as well.
People tend to idealize the past, especially when it comes to privacy.
Just about everything someone did, bought or said helped feed into the local gossip stream. Technology is the single biggest reason this has changed. Nobody knows what TV programs we're watching or music we're listening to. Indeed, if anything, you could argue that perhaps we have too much privacy. Computers are extending this trend, not reversing it.