When I was a kid in the 00s, my friends and I rode our bikes all over the place. Our parents didn't know where we were, and unless they wanted to go out searching or calling people, they didn't have any way of knowing. None of us had cell phones.
Now, people are too scared to let their kids out of their sight for too long, or they might have a neighbor that can't mind their own business and call CPS over it.