The data does not seem to show this, though there is the idea that life was better when it was simpler. That we have dug ourselves into a hole of stress, anxiety, and other mental ailments.

For one thing though, Increased awareness of problems should not be confused with an increase in problems.

There is the reasonable debate about how much access to more forms of recreation and amusement has improved our society, if at all. Pinker tends to believe we are better off for not having the “gnawing boredom” of older societies (ref). My impression is that that boredom was filled with doing more of some things (like sex).

While I suspect that life is better with more amusement, this doesn’t feel obvious by itself. There are accounts of folks in Native American societies fleeing assimilation into Colonial society, while it does not seem many, if any, colonials who assimilated to Native American society attempted to flee (from discussion with John Fate Faherty). Not to mention the fact that we do think some Value in boredom, and more important is our ultimate goal of Happiness.

How much does quality of life depend on recreation and amusement?

How do we assess quality of life for older people?