Today's instances of opining link to a long history of people voicing their opinions in public. For example:

Now: Ratings and reviews of products; commenting on a blog
Before: Word-of-mouth product advocacy or detracting; letter to the editor of a newspaper; customer service call
Past: Standing on a soapbox; revolutionary words (Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Declaration of Independence); Parlour sessions

While people always have an opinion, the reach of that opinion today is far greater than it could be in the past.