Yes, I do think living a stripped-down simplified life is better.
Explanation :
Life is not about wasting time making efforts to afford technology and other luxuries. It is far beyond that. A few centuries back, life was all about spending time with family and friends, caring for being in the soothing lap of nature and celebrating festivals together.
To have a modestly furnished house to live in, simple food full of all essential nutrients and long-lasting conversations with the desired company can bring a lot of happiness. Striving for more than the basic necessities leads to stress, unhealthy competition, crimes, social ills, and unhappiness. Greed has no limit. It goes beyond the Infinite. Selfishness accompanies greed. People spend a whole lifetime to earn to afford luxuries and then spend money fighting ailments.
Technology and other luxuries should be kept in check. They should be used to improve human understanding and increase comfort but not to an extent that mars the joys of living a carefree lifetime. ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’ should not govern one’s life.
History validates the fact that the most learned scholars and spiritualists lived a simple and modest life, staying busy in their intellectual and spiritual pursuits with no distractions. Mahatma Gandhi is one example.