I think a culture which views suing for everything as legitimate and the very peculiar and frankly weird specificity which enabled it to - the existence of punitive damages and them going to the other party - has a lot more to do with it than helicopter parenting.
I always find it surprising that American lament the death of shared spaces - because that’s what public spaces are - when it’s pretty obvious that they don’t actually want to spend time with each other. I mean two comments under this one you will find a commenter explaining that the situation is to be blamed on the other half of America they dislike. Well, that’s not very conductive to an environment where public spaces thrive.
Yes, fear of being sued was the ultimate death of all that stuff, but, to be fair, helicopter parenting is a manifestation of what is the same fear (e.g. "What if someone calls CPS?"). You are ultimately talking about the same thing.
> when it’s pretty obvious that they don’t actually want to spend time with each other.
Which too no doubt stems from the very same fear again. Hard to want to spend time with other people when you have to continually look over your shoulder. Most people show love, compassion, and kindness, but there is always that one person who is ready to go atomic at the drop of a hat that ruins it for everyone else.
It seems in many places that are free or cheap, there are many more types of people that show up and it sometimes gets weird.
This has led to less women and children going to open spaces, which leads to less men in my observations.
This varies greatly depending on the exact neighborhood, and it may not be obvious if you spend most time in a wealthier or more homogeneous part of a city/town. Although they are not immune, it strongly depends on the forces allowed to keep the others away.
I always find it surprising that American lament the death of shared spaces - because that’s what public spaces are - when it’s pretty obvious that they don’t actually want to spend time with each other. I mean two comments under this one you will find a commenter explaining that the situation is to be blamed on the other half of America they dislike. Well, that’s not very conductive to an environment where public spaces thrive.