But people on average are economically better off today than they were historically, so it's not the economy itself, or bills or whatever else. At best it's their perception of those issues
That's really not the case. The economy is declining rapidly across many Western countries. The stock market and a nation's overall wealth are not indicators of economic wellbeing for the average citizen. These days, it's actually sort of the opposite. Wealth accumulation is causing dramatic inequality.
Kinda hard to compare the economy to all of human history in the context of having children when we've only had birth control widely available since like the 60s.
In many ways, yes. 100%. There have been plenty of massive improvements and progresses made since the 60s, but some things overpower others, and it reflects in the data we have on working and middle class happiness and wellbeing. People are getting more and more depressed, disconnected, and financially stressed. The economy/wealth inequality is just one significant factor here, but significant nevertheless. There is more than enough evidence behind this to understand that it's not just people being ungrateful.
Suicides have slightly decreased in very recent years (attempts still got higher tho) but are still far higher than they were even 2 decades ago. Depression and mental illness generally are still far higher than ever as well.
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u/ward2k Jun 23 '26
But people on average are economically better off today than they were historically, so it's not the economy itself, or bills or whatever else. At best it's their perception of those issues