I would guess it goes along with the trend of making the superheroes more vulnerable, which means they need the help of others. I tend to like that sort of a story, but ONLY after the hero has tried to go it alone, and then only with very close, trusted people. There has to be somewhat of a balance there.
Of, course, then there's the Tony Stark model - "Aw, screw it. Yeah, I'm Iron Man, isn't that AWESOME!!!" I have to admit, that was hilarious in the first IM movie.
Virginia, you have an interesting point about how there's very little secrecy in our lives today to start with, so it makes sense to be reflected in fiction.
