It is unclear whether people today are happier than they were at some earlier point in time, since happiness fluctuates with time. In the old days, an average person might have been content with something simple, such as some quality time with family, some outdoor play, some tasty meal, and so on.
We are currently involved in the technology, work and many other things which may give rise to anxiety (stress) or lack of focus (distraction). However, there are also technologies that contribute to a better life, like the internet, new drugs, better protection, etc.
One thing I’ve noticed is that in the past, people seemed to spend more time together. I can remember a time when people did without cellphones and spent hours talking to each other, being told tales and jokes.
Today, however, it seems that people are much more likely to spend their time looking through their screens rather than speaking to each other directly. On the one side, we have more activities and things to be pleased, and who knows we even lose sight of the kind of deeper fulfillment we actually cherished being blissful.
According to my opinion, happiness is not about material things or technologies, but inner things. The origin lies in the sentiment of thanks for life experience, the sentiment of love towards others, and the sentiment of inner peace.
Occasionally however, individuals have everything but still feel empty within them because they are always seeking something to have them engage in constant striving. In other words, if we could go down into the time of the present as the time of the past, maybe we could be happy again with the little things. Therefore, perhaps wellbeing is not a matter of whether life is itself today good or bad, but how we make sense of life experiences.
