I've been thinking along similar lines recently Len, with a lifelong interest in astronomy (thanks for taking the time to put it so cogently). The astronomical community has been up in arms about the light pollution of the Starlink project for some time. But even without that added burden, I've mentioned to my wife Teresa several times over the years, how it distresses me that I haven't seen the Milky Way for literally decades, here on the eastern seaboard, and how two or three generations have *never* seen its glory -- or a great number of stars -- that were my companions as a child. The last clear view I had was almost 30 years ago, when I was staying in a hermitage in the San Cristobal mountains in New Mexico. There are a couple of National Parks in the center of Pennsylvania I'm told (I've yet to visit), that serve as an attractant for that very reason (like moths to a celestial flame).
I can only begin to speculate as to how that's effected those more recent generations' cognition, as knowledge and appreciation of the 'heavens' has been a constant for our species over millenia.
As for stamps and snail-mail, since the pandemic hit, we've been lucky to receive mail once every three days -- no matter the quantity (it's a continuing delivery problem, not a reflection of quantity).
Most people are incredulous when I tell them that growing up in the 60s in NJ, we had twice-a-day mail delivery!