They were actually exhausted. Fairly often, they just got drunk quickly after work and went to sleep.
Both parents were working 12 hours a day so many kids were unsupervised from age of 4 whole day. Before that, supervised by one older kid.
> Did people not socialize in the days before worker protections demanded worker protections?
Socialization was a luxury that certain segments afford before worker protections. Most families worked, children and all, and after doing what daily chore needed to be done at home, they slept. Socialization happened during dinner etc, which is why a lot of working class families used to give a lot of importance to dinner.
Did people not socialize in the days before worker protections demanded worker protections? I just don't think your reasoning covers the causes well, especially in the suburbanite 40 hour week type that travel by car for an hour+ a day to a single family home.
Media consumption exists because technology has allowed media to show up everywhere at all times very rapidly and we have not had a society wide inoculation to its negative effects.