Why were the 1970s called "The 'Me' Decade"?

In the 1970s, popular focus shifted away from the social issues that had dominated the 1960s and shifted more toward introspective self-examination. Writer Tom Wolfe is responsible for dubbing it "The 'Me' Decade."

The self-examination of the 1970s evolved into quests for self-enhancement and the pursuit of new opportunities. Women began making strides in the workplace, rules of fashion were reinvented, attitudes about sexual relations relaxed and people began living more liberally and even extravagantly. There was an emphasis on the idea of having a good time and escaping the social rigors and environmental emphasis that had defined much of the 1960s.