I often wonder if they just made us do more washing, use more cups, travel further in the same time and get more expectations from our boss though.

I've got 2 kids. I'm always doing laundry and loading the dishwasher. How much of that is just higher expectations of cleanliness? Back when washing clothes involved going to the river all day, kids would get sewn into their clothes for winter. These days they have 5 outfit changes a day. I'm certain that my dishwasher means everyone just grabs a clean mug/glass/bowl rather than just rinsing a dirty one. I use a computer all day to get stuff done. But that just means my boss expects more stuff to be done. The baseline shifted.

A few hundred years ago people mostly lived near where they were born and didn't travel much. Now we get in our cars to drive a few hours to visit our family and friends. But they only moved far away because the car enabled it.

Obviously there are benefits - especially for those who find dirt upsetting - but have we actually changed the balance of leisure time very much?

I mean I like the much lower rates of dysentery and untreatable skin and dental conditions...

People have an extremely rosey view of the past shaped by the fact that period dramas are acted by modern Hollywood actors.