Or easy access to recorded music, although it was starting. Music via the radio wasn't available yet either.

> They didn't have smartphones and video games back in those days, so people kept themselves occupied with other pursuits...

In other words: there were fewer lazy, low-effort distractions, so people had to develop more skills, more frequently.

And interact with each other. In meatspace. No wonder more babies were being born.

so people engaged in activities which built real community and required frequent, sustained interaction with their neighbors, AND which involved manipulating real-world objects rather than fantasy objects.

#1 is generally correlated with increased mental health, something which makes sense when you recognize that we are a social animal.

#2 would make for some interesting research