I disagree. I like being able to converse with my husband who’s in the computer area while I’m in the kitchen, or let the baby sit in the living room while I pull in laundry from the washer. Open floor plans work great for a lot of people, especially young families.
Our house was built in 1950, and is all hardwood floor. I never realized how sound seemed actually magnified by the floor, until I realized the loud noise I kept hearing every night was my (not fat, subadult) cat walking down the hall. The cat actually makes the floors creak, they are so old.
I can be in the kitchen and clearly hear my wife (at the far end of the house)in the bath tub summoning me for another cocktail; She knows I can hear her so there is no use trying to hide.
So yeah, all you folks with newer homes don't know what you're missing.
On the plus side, my home came with an old, decrepit nuclear fallout shelter underneath our back yard, which is totally cool, IMHO.