I think they were more thoughtful, and paid closer attention to the things around them.
That’s true, but I also think we are suffering from a kind of “information overload” these days. The sum total of Human knowledge has expanded (and continues to expand) at an exponential rate, and in response educators have pretty much given up on teaching facts. The emphasis now is on knowing how to acquire facts, rather than knowing the facts themselves. I can kind of see where they are coming from, but at the same time I do believe they have gone too far along that route. Kids really do need to have certain details at their fingertips, even today.