Writing and Society

I've noticed as I've started to read more blogs and read more nonfiction, that our collective writing style in America seems to be much less formal (and becoming even less formal). I think that people are writing how they speak and arranging information more from the reader's perspective. My sense is that this is a result of the sheer quantity of information available. We don't want to read fluffy writing (unless that is our explicit purpose) to get at what we need. We want the info. Now. I find that this seems to run in parallel with broader social trends on dress and behavior, i.e. more casual. This makes me wonder: If you dislike fanfare in the public arena, do you dislike flowery langauge? And on the social level, if a society values merit and productivity, does it value this kind of economy in its writing? I wonder if there has been research done on this, or if it is a relationship that only exists in my mind.