Why do films have more cuts than they did 20 years ago?

I want to disagree with the assumption that the number of cuts in a film has increased over the last 20 years.

To say the number of edits has increased is to also say that film techniques have also changed, and while technology and style have changed. The basic techniques of filming have remained mostly intact. With the except of the few directors who challenge the norm (Quentin Tarantino as an example).

An editor tries to stay true to the script, and will make changes under the guidance of the director. The point here is the script. Scripts, how they are written, how they are structured has not changed much in the last 20 years.

While we can use MTV as an example of fast editing. Let's remember that most of the MTV style is copied from classic great directors. There are many films of the 1960s and 1970s that used fast editing to build drama, action and mood.

The central rhythm of a film is called its beat. Beats are specific, measured, and spaced to create a pace that moves the progress of the film forward. Script writers have been using beats long before films. Scripts for the theater contained beats.

To say films contain more cuts now than before, is to say that films have a faster beat now than before. That simply isn't true.

What has likely happened is that you are now watching more films that have a faster beat than you did when you were younger. So your perception is that films now have more cuts. There are many adult drama films being produced that have a slower beat that you are likely not watching.