OK, you'll forgive me, because this is srs business. OP, it's simple, but difficult to explain. Have you seen those "the internet used to be a place" kind of videos? It's like that.

Things used to be mostly physical. Phones had lots of chrome, and they were designed like objects. Nowadays, they are made to be as invisible as possible. They're made to be sleek, sure, but the focus is no longer on the object, but on what's inside of the screen.

You can extrapolate that notion everywhere. The world is becoming more and more digital, so it's no surprise that it's killing creativity. It makes you live in your head more and more. Like a VR reality that hijacks your imagination to establish itself. No need for complex hardware.

Of course there are many other factors. But I think this is key.