They were the same as they've always fucking been, you're just older and have a better capacity to both notice it and be tired of it, so now you see it more and have a bias because of that.

Before the internet was big we had shitloads of counter monkeys hanging out at the comic shop willing to do either one and sometimes both of these to anyone who would, or had to, listen - with the most likely person being the dude working at the comic shop. Nerds have been doing this shit over comics alone for decades.