[Fluff time] What is your take on family room?

Renovating homes one gets to see many homes of different eras, the old homes, like 50 years or more, you do not often see family rooms or dining rooms, there was only one main room and it had an eat-in kitchen. Then about the 60s from memory growing up, family rooms and dining areas started showing up. The newest homes out seem to have not only a dining room, but an informal eating nook, sometimes in addition to an informal eating area. What is your take on the family room, a place to get messy that you do not have to worry about acquaintances seeing it, or have an unofficial room not used for the insurance agent etc.? If you have or grew up with a family room, what was it mainly used for, and did that mean you could not use the living room, or it was off limits?