This is a problem with our whole generation, I thi...

This is a problem with our whole generation, I think. Well, more specifically the immediately prior generation - the Xers, who built a whole subculture on detached irony. Our generation just advanced the ball a few more yards with it, and the internet is an ideal distribution format for snark, since it doesn't require much thought or time to produce.

For what it's worth, David Foster Wallace wrote about this problem (although in the context of fictional criticism) back in 1993. So, things have been pretty bad for a while now.