Yes, they were happier. Considering some facts such as
Un-polluted air unlike what we have now due to industrialization

Consumption of fresh foods unlike intake of preservatives and other chemicals(carcinogens) nowadays

They(our forefathers) do things in common(togetherliness) unlike our own "me and my family"

Although, no electricity they have 'beautiful' moonlight which they can sit under it(with sweet melodies coming from insects and moon talestories from an elder) without fear.

If you are not in fear, you are not far from being happy.

byvan: Thanks for civilization,at last women have got a say in their own destiny.Ofcourse our forefathers were happier,what of our foremothers?There were a very sad lot.Civilization suits me just fine!!

You may now shut up. Those women were a lot happier than your mother and you combined together.
They have everything they needed. Now you don't have everything you need, do you? what happened?

There were a lot of respect for men because they hustled for the food, money and security.
Men of nowadays do the same but what do they get? A gold digger for a wife who knows some girl in America called Kim Kardasian who wears PRADA, Drives Bentley, dances naked and makes money.
Our mothers of then had handworks, they farm, fetches water with babies tied to their backs and tell moonlight stories.
You and your fellow girls of nowadays don't farm, you dont fetch water, you have no stories to tell.

Would any woman want to live in times of our ancestors? Of course not! Women now have substantially more power than they previously did. How do we know that our forefathers were happy? Do we have any facts? If women were happy, they wouldn't have fought for equal rights. If we say that our forefathers were happier, aren't we essentially saying that Christianity and Islam are essentially useless since our ancestors were happier without these religions? Maybe men were happier since they had all the power, as opposed to modern times where women are competing with men for control of the ship.

I think it is wrong to say that our ancestors were content, because they did not have choices like we do. If a human being doesn't have options, s/he has no choice but to be content. As for me, I would not want to live in those times, and I doubt anyone here would.

Sam Milla: You and your fellow girls of nowadays don't farm, you dont fetch water, you have no stories to tell.

Neither do men. Dude, my mother and sisters hustle like any other hardworking men. You cannot simply put all women into one box. No WOMAN would want to live in the ancient times because they had no power. A man was basically the dictator of the family and his word was final. If women were that happy, why are they now clamoring for equal rights? You cannot know whether or not a woman is happy since you are not one.

musiwa-x:
I clicked on this topic, expecting my fellow forumites to base their response to the question on facts and information that would educate an individual and at the same time challenge us the present generation to aim at replicating such things, which increased the quality of life of our fore fathers. what do I get? Incoherent ramblings about punnies and wives and so on.

While I am not amused by the supposedly harmless joke, I fully recognise that people's choices differs and anybody and everybody is entitled to their own opinion on a faceless forum. I also appreciate the importance of being in a good mood which helps with productivity and reducing stress. I take exception to the disregard for intelligent discuss when it would be detrimental to the eventual outcome of a great question as this. I believe in a public forum, the average individual would most likely base their response and replies on what their perception of what the thread is about, based on what the early commenters have inferred or stated.

Back to the topic. Happiness in itself is based on different yardsticks, although at the end of the day, it boils down to the individual. It is not far from the truth to link happiness to satisfaction, which is based on what an individual feels their aim and purpose in life is. Take for example a case of a person who is passionate about teaching kids and humanitarian activities, such an individual would not be bothered by how much they are being paid or their living conditions. This person would normally satisfied when they cause change in their environment, when one their students graduates, when a nation in crises becomes self sufficient and in peace as a result of their inputs. Having said all these, the present generation ( I am not stereotyping here, there are exceptions to this assumption) base their satisfaction in how many twitter followers they have, girls base they happiness on how rich their boyfriends are, how many iphone 5 they own and how many Christian Louboutin shoes they have, every young guy would want to be an artist wearing prada, popping Moet and Champagne, having girls chasing them. They are not at fault at all, and this applies to the developed countries as well. People are no longer interested in education, research is on the downward slope (unlike before when researchers and inventors would painstakingly go without food and money for years, to create a magnificent piece of invention). why is this happening? remains elusive to me, although someone somewhere might have figured it out, which would be a good idea as it would help in addressing the crisis.

While the present crop of youths are being influenced by alien cultures all thanks to the internet age, an individual somewhere in Timbuktu would do an Harlem shake or Gangnam style rather than sit down to plan his/her life. Our forefathers on the other hand are not easily distracted by all these possessions, they live happy lives. Why? because they have discovered the through meaning of fulfilment, they have identified how to meet their basic needs and building a system that works.

We should be careful not to confuse being ambitious with being greedy, nor should we confuse the quiet lives lived by our forefathers with the fast paced life we live in. They dont have an android phone (one of the greates piece of inventions), nor do they have an Ipad ( a recent study in UK found out that kids learn faster by interacting with a touchscreen device. this explains why young kids would easily get a hang of how to use an ipad before their mums) or a CRM application which manages a business operation. We in the present age would to some extent enjoy our lives and become happier, even much more than our forefathers, if only we can drop all the unnecessary baggages, and focus on influencing our work sphere and immediate environment.

This can't be musiwa lailai

honeric01:

This can't be musiwa lailai

Dude you beat me to it only because I was still paralyzed with shock and a little fear. . .oh alright, a lot of fear!!

@ Topic

Is possible not to turn this into a gender warfare?!!

greatgod2012: Civilisation is good but as im looking at it now, d negatives that come along with civilisation is much more than its positives, therefore, i can say they were happier than us, d way we are going to be happier than many generations that would be coming after us, because.............we are just starting, in terms of civilisation.
May God help us all.

How do you mean "civilisation?" Or you were referring to western civilisation?? Our forefathers had their own civilisation(s) - you need to read more!!!


Topic:

Our forefathers were happier because they lived in a "smaller" with peace and joy in everything they did... and their way of was guided by ways which were natural to them without any external influence nor the make belief world that we live in... in this day and age... May God bless our ancestors!!

musiwa-x:
I clicked on this topic, expecting my fellow forumites to base their response to the question on facts and information that would educate an individual and at the same time challenge us the present generation to aim at replicating such things, which increased the quality of life of our fore fathers. what do I get? Incoherent ramblings about punnies and wives and so on.

......
We should be careful not to confuse being ambitious with being greedy, nor should we confuse the quiet lives lived by our forefathers with the fast paced life we live in. They dont have an android phone (one of the greates piece of inventions), nor do they have an Ipad ( a recent study in UK found out that kids learn faster by interacting with a touchscreen device. this explains why young kids would easily get a hang of how to use an ipad before their mums) or a CRM application which manages a business operation. We in the present age would to some extent enjoy our lives and become happier, even much more than our forefathers, if only we can drop all the unnecessary baggages, and focus on influencing our work sphere and immediate environment.

So upon all you burst
All you talk na dust

Sisi_Kill: On a slightly funny note, I remember my great grandmother regaling us with stories about dating and courtship in the old days and then went on to say how one of her mates married one man, even though he only had two tippers (apparently that was low class) now tell me how that is different from what some ladies do today?

So you see, different times, different criteria. . .their criteria seems very simplistic to us now considering the wealth of things we have available but back then don't you think people who didn't have tippers will not do anything to own one?

The fact that what was important to them looks "small" in our eyes does not mean materialism and the many ills y'all are lamenting about today's generation did not affect them too.

Sisi Kill, please what are 'tippers'

Ndipe: Everybody gotta admit that we live in a dog eat dog world filled with competition and bragado on the latest purchases, be it Gucci, Samsung Galaxy, a million dollar house, etc, and in most instances, such purchases are bound to evoke envy and spite in the lives of certain people.

This leads to a rise in armed robbery, prostitution and all vices imaginable in today's society. So, few days ago, I kept wondering if our forefathers were indeed happier than our present generation.

We know that they were not materialistic as we are, but were contented to walk barefoot, (some of us want the best shoes), live in modest thatch roof homes, and at evenings, gather at the village square to regale one another with folk talks under moonlight.

We dare not incorporate that into our lives for fear of being left behind or worse, being ridiculed by our mates as being crass. Hence, the need to compete with another another, and the competition can be left brutal. But the quality of life in those days were not great, people walked miles and miles to places and even had to forego travelling because of the distance. In a whim, we can be in Paris, for a holiday as long as we have some money in our account. We can hop from one bar to another to sample exotic drinks (not kaikai or palmwine) and stroll to the mall for shopping.

But are we happier than our forefathers who did not have these privileges or were they happier?

OP, the basis for your thesis needs review. I don't think we can compare apples to oranges even though they both grow on trees. Our forefathers lived in a totally different era. While are post industrial and now in the internet age, most of our forefathers were illiterates, ignorant, superstitious, etc. Today, some of us have access to the internet, through which if we choose may be more informed than the average Joe living in the West.

Robbery on the other hand has its roots in so many other societal and environment factors including our government or lack of during recent times in Nigeria. More so, robbery or armed robbery is caused by greed, which roots are sown in poverty ridden inner cities, lack of good infrastructure for children to grow, hope, and think positive-good thoughts. If you are content with what you have, it doesn’t matter who has a Gucci bag, Prada or whatever. Or in the right environment, you know you can get funds or save to get your own. Unfortunately, that’s not the story for a lot of our youths. We want them to go to school but there is no employment upon graduation. Some of the younger ones even go to school hungry, only to beg their peers for part of their food during lunch. How is someone meant to retain any lessons taught going through this? Teachers are also not adequately paid and neither are they given respect in our society. By the way, they do have armed robberies in the West. It’s not only a Nigeria type of problem.

How many times u go ask this question? Che we dey there that time wey u dey ask us? Abeg go ask them joor...for inside grave! Kinta Kunte should give u a satisfactory answer....
NEXTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pak:


Sisi Kill, please what are 'tippers'

Commercial trucks with the tilting back....Tipping backs. . .ya know tippers

Before lorries, people used those wooden wheel barrows to transport goods and since those had to be pushed one couldn't travel long distance and if they did, it took months and months. Then the lorries came along and now you could transport your stuff from the North to the South in days which meant more money for the owners.

Now Tippers even made transportation easier and especially the offloading part....coz of the tipping, which meant even more money. Men who owned tippers were like....DA MEN!! I mean in today's terms, that would be like owning. . .I don't even know what to equate it with. Point is. . those were the men any sane girl would...should want to be with and if he had more than one, better for her. .

Gosh I wish I had access to old pix from my great granma's albulm...see these men with their babarigas and "tophats", goro in mouth, posing with their tippers. Hilarious!

Sisi_Kill:

Commercial trucks with the tilting back....Tipping backs. . .ya know tippers

Before lorries, people used those wooden wheel barrows to transport goods and since those had to be pushed one couldn't travel long distance and if they did, it took months and months. Then the lorries came along and now you could transport your stuff from the North to the South in days which meant more money for the owners.

Now Tippers even made transportation easier and especially the offloading part....coz of the tipping, which meant even more money. Men who owned tippers were like....DA MEN!! I mean in today's terms, that would be like owning. . .I don't even know what to equate it with. Point is. . those were the men any sane girl would...should want to be with and if he had more than one, better for her. .

Gosh I wish I had access to old pix from my great granma's albulm...see these men with their babarigas and "tophats", goro in mouth, posing with their tippers. Hilarious!

Thanks,
nice going back in time.

by the way, you mean your grandma's clique regarded someone with two tippers as low class ? Then her circle must have been really well to do, lucky you. (I'll definitely love to see dem pix)

Papa always told me about how all his siblings and parents had to go to work to raise enough to pay for his education

They probably were contented with what they have

Thats how in 100yrs those then would look back and say we suffered back in 2010. When we couldn't teleport to Pluto at will and we couldnt have virtual sex

pak:

Thanks,
nice going back in time.

by the way, you mean your grandma's clique regarded someone with two tippers as low class ? Then her circle must have been really well to do lucky you. (I'll definitely love to see dem pix)

Papa always told me about how all his siblings and parents had to go to work to raise enough to pay for his education

Bwahahahaha!! Not necessarily, you know.

dayokanu: They probably were contented with what they have

Thats how in 100yrs those then would look back and say we suffered back in 2010. When we couldn't teleport to Pluto at will and we couldnt have virtual sex

It always comes down to that with you!!

Sisi_Kill:

It always comes down to that with you!!

Have you thought of it that most of our struggle in life revolves around Money(food) and Women/Men(Sexx)

Its not fair to make comparisons between both generations.
They certainly had things and lives we can never have and we have things and lives they could never have dreamt of..
They had loads of issues to deal with from famine to war to poverty,diseases and all sorts just like we have same and equilvalents now.
If there was a way to incorporate some enviables they had then like the peace and quiet,the food and some parts of the civilisation we have now without the ills that come with it then it might be one happy generation but there can be no such thing.Good and evil are linear.You can't have all good and all evil.
They might have truly been happy against the odds just the way we can be if we choose against the odds too.
This is our generation and these are our lives now.

yuzedo: HELL YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 man = 12 wives = 14 punnies x 365 days! CHOOIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dog.that's all u can think of.

dayokanu: They probably were contented with what they have

Thats how in 100yrs those then would look back and say we suffered back in 2010. When we couldn't teleport to Pluto at will and we couldnt have virtual sex

huh?
What generation are you again?

Yes na

dayokanu:

Have you thought of it that most of our struggle in life revolves around Money(food) and Women/Men(Sexx)

Rotflmao! Have you seen Dave Chapelle's Killing 'em Softly??!!

If you haven't. . .please do! Best 60mins you'll ever spend watching a stand up.

I don't wanna post a clip here because it's a bit racy but it's on youtube. (If you don't wanna watch the entire show, which I don't know why you wouldn't. . .did I mention, it would be the best 60 mins you'll ever spend watching a standup ) checkout the one with title DAVE CHAPPELLE MEN & WOMEN PSYCHOLOGY

slimyem: huh?
What generation are you again?

I mean actual penetration virtually

dayokanu:

I mean actual penetration virtually

Oh!!

Very much happier ! Infact far happier !

With a family sharing a large rôasted Antelope as a dinner ! Eat and drink unadulterated fresh palm wine and at weekends wrestle with tough six-packed young peers as sports and for fun.

The best times are cömpletely gone !

*sad*

honeric01:

This can't be musiwa lailai

U no serious, wetin u mean by that? Person no fit improve again? Take ur time o.

Ignorance is bliss so they were probably happier but we are far more comfortable. Ur opinion on this issue basically boils down to the kind of person u are, which do u consider more important comfort or happiness?

mazaje:


Happy being slaves or selling others off as slaves abi?. . .

Are you mad? They were happier, society had more morals and ethics. People feared God, and robbery and all this kidnapping and other vices, though they existed, they hardly got as horrible as they are today. slavery my foot, sold who? that was a small portion of the people and those sold were mainly slaves from war.

I think that generation was happier, for the simple reason that unhappiness comes from craving something you don't have, be it love, an Ipad, a Lamborghini, a US Green Card, constant electricity, or a mansion in Lekki.

There was a narrower range of things to crave back then, so they would have been A LOT happier.

By what are we measuring happiness?

if they thought they were happier than how we think we are happy then, yes, they were.

and if they thought they were happy at a significantly more number of times than we have these thoughts, again, they were happier.

and vice versa







I wont for any reason wish to live at their time. The thoughts of what the sanitation was like, the rituals, child marriages, too large families etc come to mind. It doesnt change the fact that I may have been happy as the youngest of 13 wives marrying the man with the largest farm

Our forefathers could be happier then but they have more troubles to deal with. They have troubles wit dealing with outbreak of epidemics. If you ask your father how many children did his parent have or wat position he belongs to in the family. So many are not happy at all. Women are the less privileged wit so many pains to deal with. How many fresh fruit do they even eat then? It was survival of the fittest. The kings had no plans to curb famines, pestilence. Women are left crying wen their husband had been in the war.
We are happier than them.