I sometimes have dreams in which I am only an observer of the activities of the dream. It is as if watching the TV or a movie. No one in the dream interacts with me in any way.

I am assuming this is happens to others as well.

I wonder if this is a phenomenon that has only occurred since the advent of visual media (i.e., movies and TV). And if it is becoming more common as so many people are spending so much waking time only as observers... not just watching TV and movies, but staring at video content on their "smart" phone for hours on end.