This is your mistake though. Its not about judging the past by modern standards, it's about the quality of life by the standards of the time. If everyone dies by 30 then that's just life, it doesn't make your life worse that we now live longer in the same way our life isn't changed by the fact in 2084 people might live to 200. An average person can travel the globe now but will never have the thrill of seeing an animal that they haven't already seen on TV or in a kids book. An ancient Greek might be caught at sea, wash up in Madagascar and have their mind blown. Whose life is more abundant?

I don't think you can objectively say people were living "better more abundant lives". You can say people are generally healthier, live longer, are better educated but it's impossible to say whether people are happier or living more meaningful lives. Especially because you're always dealing with averages and statistics or anecdotal stuff and never with the individuals. No one can say for sure. Maybe the ancient Greeks fucking loved life and we are all living a pale shadow of the hijinks they had

People working in those Mills in the 1800s were probably cursing technology too