>>513372861 (OP)
>NPC epidemic exploded in the last 10-15 years
I don't think it's exploded around that time frame. It seems the boomers were the most braindead NPCattle types, believing literally anything the flashy pixels-in-motion mk ultra-o-vison tells them to believe. I think they were also subject to the most brutal clandestine science experiments in modern history, ranging from indoctrination center's lunches and water supply (drinking fountains), as well as more transparent experimentations like the "fluoride pill" (yes, that was actually a thing), because it helps protect your teeth!
A shift was made away from the Boomer method to GenX and Millenials with high powered pharmaceutical drugs, likely similarly laced with certain substances for experimentation. As GenZ became fully grown, the previous Boomer methods were rehashed in a way that was more subtle and precise at times, like the covid clotshots of recent, as well as a more opaque crop dusting of certain cities and regions - an homage to the entirety of the past century.
Whenever I talked to Boomers growing up, I always felt they were lacking in something substantial. I never knew what it was as a kid, but they never seemed quite there. I wouldn't label them entirely stupid though, not at all. Just, like cows in a field. Not really being anything else, but just cows in a field. Each generation since then has their own brand of apathy and nihilism too, however it seems to me the boomers were dealt the hardest blow in modern history.
One can only hope for, someday, somehow, THD.