What inference can be made about today's passage?

It may be difficult to tell when a story took place, unless an author explicitly states it, but the presence or absence of technology can help a reader make an approximate guess as to when the story was set. Only novels and short stories that were written very recently will include references to smartphones and apps. Storylines that include references to the internet were written within the past 25 years. If a story makes mention of a television, then it probably took place during or after the 1950s.
The modes of transportation that people take are more examples of technology that can help the reader determine roughly when the story took place. If a character takes a plane ride, then the story very likely took place after World War II because commercial air travel became popular after the war. A character riding in a car wouldn’t happen before the 1900s. Of course, if the story mentions more recent advances like power windows or a driverless car, then it is far more recent. Train travel would put the setting within the past 200 years. The absence of technology doesn’t always mean that the story took place hundreds of years ago, it could just mean that mentioning technology was not necessary to tell the story.

The use of planes in World War II helped create the commercial air travel industry.

Authors always include references to technology when they are writing about recent events.

Stories that mention smartphones are not very popular.