How much does it affect your life?
I would suggest that the ability to quickly travel far distances, affects our lives in ways outside of personal travel much more so. For example, shipping a package, receiving goods from other parts of the country and world are all things that were very difficult to do in the not-too-distant past. -These are every day conveniences. These conveniences allow goods and services to be more efficient and cost-effective. The car I am parked in right now is full of products and is itself made of components that likely came from all over the world.
...and how much different would your life be if that car were 100% made in Detroit? How much different would your life be if instead of buying your clothes at BigMart you bought them at the local tailor's? How much different would your life be if your caesar salad came from vegetables grown an oxcart ride away, rather than Mexico? Yeah, it's a geopolitical change, but it's still a salad.
From a cost perspective it could be very different. I was at Target yesterday and I bought tennis balls, shaving cream, Annie's pizza rolls, a cup of coffee and pens. Without the ability to quickly source those products, a store with that many varried products at a low cost might not exist. It saved me time. No doubt. My life would be different. Not saying for the better or worse, but different.
100 years ago, would you need tennis balls? Shaving cream? Pizza rolls? Pens? That's my point. The gadgets and greebles in your life are different, but the gadgets and greebles do not materially impact your life. Now, if we were talking contact lenses or insulin there'd be an argument. At the same time, 100 years ago there was a lot less myopia and diabetes. This whole thread is desperately lacking perspective.