Hatred and the Internet

Why has the world become a nastier place than it was when I was young? It now seems almost impossible to agree to disagree and remain friends. 
Is it really all the fault of the internet that enables us to communicate with people that we don't know and say things about them that we would never say to their face? 
I am proudly Catholic, sadly there are factions within the Church that barely tolerate each other. In politics there appears to be rancour and loathing between the political parties and within each party.
Or was the "golden age" of my youth a figment of my imagination and that the real hatreds were always there just hidden below the surface?  
Meanwhile I shall continue to argue the toss with my friends from other countries about the Six Nations and the forthcoming Rugby Word Cup whilst we buy each other a beer.