What happened to the art of conversation?

Drove down to Southampton tonight in preparation for an inspection of the Isle of Wight Council tomorrow.

I'd been booked into the Novotel Southampton, and having checked in, I went down for dinner. Seeing I was on my own, the waiter showed me to one of a number of 'booths, each with one seat and a single place setting. Curiously, each had a headset and a television screen, so that I could watch TV as I ate my meal in silence.

Whatever happened to engaging other lone diners in conversation?

It brought to mind a saying I heard some years ago - "Strangers are just friends you haven't yet met". Is it just me, or are we losing our sense of society?