In kindergarten, 35 years ago, I was taught "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all." That saying comes from a movie that came out 45 years before that.

So people not saying what they think just to be liked is certainly not "in these times" thing. It's something children have been taught for at least the last century.

Most people think acting like an egomaniacal jerk is what being assertive means.