I don't think its fair to say people were happier. Times were always tough and the stress never really went away.
But that's a problem all of society refuses to acknowledge, in that "happiness" isn't a constant state of being. Its a transient feeling that we literally aren't capable of holding onto for long. Most of our emotions are.
Which means back then people were "happier" because the happiness came in bursts when the hard times took a break, and were able to appreciate that rare treat of bliss. Whereas people today are so overloaded on happiness it has become fucking meaningless and barely even blips to them, meaning they have to seek higher hits to even trigger a stimulus response.
Point being, happiness is stupid as a metric and trying to pursue it constantly is the reason why most people (especially women) are fucking miserable today. Not due to lack of it, but because like a good junkie they have built a tolerance so high they can't even feel it.
I genuinely think that I, personally, would be happier without our various forms of "instant communication". Not just social media (including Linkedin), but also emails, and texts, and fucking Zoom...
Seriously, I could go back to like, the 70s, and be happy enough for a while...
Because at least then, work was work, and you didn't bring it home with you so much. And you were only trying to "keep up with the Joneses", not literally everyone you know, even those who moved away... Oh, and you could probably afford a fucking house, on a single wage. Yeah, I imagine that helped, too...
Seriously, this constant "interconnectedness", this... Everyone always knowing what everyone else is doing, and this whole... "Be available at all times, even when you're at home" society we have built..? It's completely toxic, and unsustainable... No one can be "happy", even as an illusory thing, living in a society like this. No fucking wonder rates of self-offing are so high...
Well that's my point. Happiness can't be long term by design. Our brain can't process that over time, it will always cease to provide any happy chemicals and even those will have diminishing effects. Happiness by definition is a short term burst of dopamine. The notion of this "happy life" is a creation by modern philosophy with no actual anchor in reality besides a utopian dream.
You can be satisfied with life, content even. But that's a dysthimic version of happiness. Longer term, but much more mild to a point of being unnoticeable most of the time.
That's why all these people living hedonistic lives are happier, because they are getting constant rushes of joy from the activities, but they are also building up a tolerance incredibly fast that makes them basically unable to feel much of anything but a void or depression before they even hit their mid 20s. They burned twice as bright to reach half as long.
Someone who is feeling fulfilled in his life physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally is going to be happy in a true sense
While this might be true, that person doesn't exist. Humans aren't built for such a state. If we run out of challenge and stress, we will create some because we need it to motivate us. There is a reason why eustress is a word, because we need some amount of pressure to keep us going or else the lack of makes us more miserable than it would on its own.
There is a reason why your pets need certain types of stimulus to their baser, more primal instincts in order to function. Because despite having a literally perfect life with all possible needs fulfilled, their instincts demand they hunt, they attack, they guard. The stress of not having those challenges and over fulfilled lifestyles drives them insane enough to create neuroticism from the air itself.
I don't think its fair to say people were happier. Times were always tough and the stress never really went away.
But that's a problem all of society refuses to acknowledge, in that "happiness" isn't a constant state of being. Its a transient feeling that we literally aren't capable of holding onto for long. Most of our emotions are.
Which means back then people were "happier" because the happiness came in bursts when the hard times took a break, and were able to appreciate that rare treat of bliss. Whereas people today are so overloaded on happiness it has become fucking meaningless and barely even blips to them, meaning they have to seek higher hits to even trigger a stimulus response.
Point being, happiness is stupid as a metric and trying to pursue it constantly is the reason why most people (especially women) are fucking miserable today. Not due to lack of it, but because like a good junkie they have built a tolerance so high they can't even feel it.
I genuinely think that I, personally, would be happier without our various forms of "instant communication". Not just social media (including Linkedin), but also emails, and texts, and fucking Zoom...
Seriously, I could go back to like, the 70s, and be happy enough for a while...
Because at least then, work was work, and you didn't bring it home with you so much. And you were only trying to "keep up with the Joneses", not literally everyone you know, even those who moved away... Oh, and you could probably afford a fucking house, on a single wage. Yeah, I imagine that helped, too...
Seriously, this constant "interconnectedness", this... Everyone always knowing what everyone else is doing, and this whole... "Be available at all times, even when you're at home" society we have built..? It's completely toxic, and unsustainable... No one can be "happy", even as an illusory thing, living in a society like this. No fucking wonder rates of self-offing are so high...
Well that's my point. Happiness can't be long term by design. Our brain can't process that over time, it will always cease to provide any happy chemicals and even those will have diminishing effects. Happiness by definition is a short term burst of dopamine. The notion of this "happy life" is a creation by modern philosophy with no actual anchor in reality besides a utopian dream.
You can be satisfied with life, content even. But that's a dysthimic version of happiness. Longer term, but much more mild to a point of being unnoticeable most of the time.
That's why all these people living hedonistic lives are happier, because they are getting constant rushes of joy from the activities, but they are also building up a tolerance incredibly fast that makes them basically unable to feel much of anything but a void or depression before they even hit their mid 20s. They burned twice as bright to reach half as long.
While this might be true, that person doesn't exist. Humans aren't built for such a state. If we run out of challenge and stress, we will create some because we need it to motivate us. There is a reason why eustress is a word, because we need some amount of pressure to keep us going or else the lack of makes us more miserable than it would on its own.
There is a reason why your pets need certain types of stimulus to their baser, more primal instincts in order to function. Because despite having a literally perfect life with all possible needs fulfilled, their instincts demand they hunt, they attack, they guard. The stress of not having those challenges and over fulfilled lifestyles drives them insane enough to create neuroticism from the air itself.