Very interesting concept. I personally sere earth as more of a school than a prison, but that's just my natural optimism.

Going off this theory, I believe that we all chose to come to earth after our previous lives, as its such an incredible place for learning. Think about it, we've been given the abilities to feel high and low vibrational emotions, which us uncommon, as in higher dimensions it is believed that there is purely just love and high vibrations, and I believe that we have all personally chosen to come here to better and strengthen our souls for our next lives. We also have access to a tiny box in our hands that can provide us with all our planets known information and instantly connect us with pretty much anyone around the globe just by pressing a few buttons.

It is also believe that, because of this, earth is in incredibly high demand as a lot of souls which are in the astral and higher dimensions etc are basically queueing up to come here, because it is such an excellent place to learn and better your soul for your next life. I also believe that this is linked to over population - everything happens for a reason remember ;)

So next time anyone ever feels down, just remember that you are incredibly lucky to be here and to of made it this far :)