The "cultural downsides" being what?
well, essentially, the centre of peoples lives moved from the home to a workplace, because for pre industrial societies,
they were the same fucking thing.
With the concept of industrialisation, you have the concept of static places that you don't own or live in, but that
you travel to to do your work for payment.
But with that same concept, you then get the unintended concept of 'free time', or 'leisure' - because your whole life isn't just upkeeping your homestead anymore.
You have working hours and money, so you move to where the work is (a town or city).
You have a certain number of hours not working and have your accrued money, so you have the ability to do stuff
just for you and spend your money on doing that.
And because so many
other people are doing the same thing, it becomes viable for people to make money by
selling leisure activities; so you see a rise in arts, and literature, and theatre, and pubs, and arcades, and museums, and holidays to places that aren't your home or your workplace. You get to marry someone that isn't your neighbours kids. You get to choose your clothes instead of being limited to what some random travelling salesman has or whatever your parents stitched together.
you get a fucking society.
