Channel 10s popular MasterChef Australia program took on a 60s look earlier this week when the wannabe chefs were forced to respond to masterchef Marco Pierre White in a way disciplinarians of the day demanded of their pupils.

In bellowing orders to the young cooks, Marco demanded a "yes Marco" as their response. Admittedly, it ensured a high level of focus, but it must have raised a few eyebrows.

In an age where we have been demographically-divided -- baby boomers, gen X, gen Y etc -- the younger generation do not like being told what to do and they dogmatically believe they know it all. It is therefore surprising that our now 'precious society' did not embark on a crusade to have Marco declared persona non grata.

In many ways, it's a good thing this has not occurred. But it does not alter the fact that we live in a world where we question people's actions and take exception to something that may be slightly out of line. Years ago you could jokingly tell someone not to be so precious when they became overly protective. Try that today and you can expect a verbal barrage.

What has brought this on? Why do we need to be mindful of everything we say? Why is the wearing of a blue tie offensive, or checking your watch while talking to someone equally unacceptable? Why can we no longer tell a woman she is well dressed?  Why are women offended when we open the car door for them or let them leave the lift first? And why are we highlighting Marco's 1960s behaviour? Yet, and despite this, we are bombarded daily by bizarre musings thanks to social media where people say what they want, many times without giving it a whole lot of thought before sharing it with the world.

Aussie icon Paul Hogan, for one, believes we take ourselves far too seriously. 

Some sports people have been labelled precious after complaining about a playing surface; the below par change room facilities; the poor choice of a hotel. Some are even precious when negotiating salaries, complaining that $200,000 a week is not quite good enough! 

The creators of ideas lose the focus of the discussion when their ideas are not endorsed or taken on board. Their main concern are their own thoughts and ideas. So the precious become obsessive.

We have become a society that is carried away with our own self-importance. As Hoges says, we DO take everything seriously, far too seriously. And it's this self-importance and serious approach that has transformed us into this precious society.

Is it too late to fix? Forget it, it's going to get worse.