20 years ago very few people had laptops. In fact, say 20-25 years ago, flying at all was a luxury (at least for most of us in Europe). I don't dispute that legroom has become stingy as air traffic has increased, but I think it's unfortunate to use ye olden days to set expectations for today. 'Economy' implies getting people from A to B as economically as possible.

An inch of extra legroom means fewer seats on the plane, and even if I had to pay 5% ($40-50) more, then it's too much. Some of the 'premium economy' options aren't that expensive anyhow. I flew Virgin Atlantic in April and only paid something like $60 for a bit of extra room (and as a bonus, because few people do, had an empty seat next to me).

Another thing with regard to your age, and I mean no disrespect, is that I believe ones tolerance for certain kinds of discomfort tend to decrease with age.