Had noticed something beginning 20+ years ago, new residence in coastal region (not NY). The stores and people in general seemed to have a strict rule of avoiding any face-to-face human interaction. Nobody knows your name, no matter how many thousands of times encountered.
We've (this area) has gradually been conditioned and desensitized to the point of no return; No empathy, no feeling.
With the cellphone addiction, at least now these people have an excuse.