I think it's partly that, and also the fact that a greater Catholic emphasis on apologetics has exposed Protestants to knowledge of Catholicism (and Eastern Orthodoxy) that they might not have encountered in the past.
There's also simply the ease of finding information - a person with a question about Catholicism, or wanting to read the Church Fathers (Greek or Latin) just needs a computer.
Catholics used to NEVER proselytize -- you had to come to them. Now they're out and about a good deal more than they used to be - especially EWTN and the internet.
I mean, when the Vatican has a website, you know the whole computer idea has arrived . . . < G >