Luddism is quite the meme lately. Hope it dies soon.
What you're witnessing isn't fear of change, it's people questioning the idea that "progress" is necessarily good.
Which predecessors? We can't really tell how a medieval peasant felt, as they didn't leave any articulate accounts. The accounts left later are generally non-representative, as people who left them were privileged (they were not illiterate). As for the more modern times, not more than 100 years ago alcoholism (strongly correlated with depression) was so rampant that the US banned alcohol sales altogether.
2. Culture changed. In the past, people were told by society to not complain about their mental state, whereas now people are opened up almost to the point of being exhibitionistic. So, you cannot really compare reports from 50 years ago with today's numbers.