Oh, for the good old easy-going 80s!

Life today is too fast-paced, say 2 in 5 Britons. So if you miss the time before maddening mobiles and social media, you’ll join them in lamenting...

WE didn’t have mobiles, computers, social media or TV on demand – but we were happier 40 years ago, it seems.

That is because more of us find life too hectic now than we did in the Eighties, when the biggest problem with technology was likely to be a jammed cassette tape.

In 1983, 30 per cent of adults told a survey the pace of life was too much. Now 41 per cent admit it is.

And more than two-thirds say they believe life was happier in the Eighties, because there were fewer problems.

A poll of more than 2,000 people in September for King’s College London found 60 per cent wish modern life could be more simple.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the college’s Policy Institute, said: ‘I grew up in the 1980s, when there were public information announcements about what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, the miners’ strikes and a real change in society. But the pace of life may have felt more manageable compared to today, when we have this addiction to our mobile phones and an “always-on” perspective. The pace of life does feel faster when people have information being thrown at them.

‘But it’s also important to recognise people have a tendency to romanticise the past and think things are worse today than they used to be. And for all that new technology may be adding to the pressures of everyday life, our survey found that large shares of the population nonetheless recognise the many benefits that our devices bring to how we live and work.’

The research revealed that we underestimate how mobile phones now dominate our lives. We estimate that we check them 25 times a day on average but a separate study found that we actually do it more than 50 times.

Half of those surveyed – including a third of over-55s – said they sometimes could not stop themselves checking their smartphones when they should be focusing on other things.

However the survey, conducted by Savanta ComRes, found some of the problems of technology may be overestimated. Half of those questioned wrongly believe we have an average attention span of just eight seconds, while 51 per cent say multi-tasking at work – switching frequently between email, phone and other duties – creates a better experience.