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"Social experience at <x> feels contrived and not everyone may want it." This pretty much sums up _everything_. So, why do we even try to have societies? Edit

"Social experience at <x> feels contrived and not everyone may want it." This pretty much sums up _everything_. So, why do we even try to have societies? Edit: You use an example of going to a bar. You realize "... not everyone may want ..." to socialize at a bar? Some just go to drink.

crazypyro 10y ago
I would hypothesize that wanting shopping to be focused on convenience over the social aspect is a much more common opinion (see: online shopping) than wanting to go to a loud, crowdy, noisy environment where you can pay a premium to drink alcohol and not be social. I don't think that is a fair comparison at all. Somethings are inherently social, like going to a bar, where as others are much more of a grey area. I would argue that many of these have historically been social experiences out of necessity (no automated machines, no online shopping, etc.), not out of the need for social interaction.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  My stepfather owned a bar for some decades. It's not quite as social as you would imagine. A great many people go there to drown "around" people, but not necessarily to drown "socially".
  - pimlottc 10y ago
    Doesn't that even more show the value of just being around other people? It's definitely a lot cheaper to drink your own booze at home.
    - TeMPOraL 10y ago
      And that's what people do when e.g. they care more about economic considerations than social stigma of drinking alone.
pimlottc 10y ago
This is an excellent point. For thousands of years, the default was every interaction was social. The idea that you should be able to walk into a standardized store and converse with a clerk like they were an automated sales droid is only a fairly recent phenomenon. These faceless, purely functional transactions - they are exception, not the norm.
pshc 10y ago
The point of a bar is to socialize, or at least have company. Otherwise why not buy a bottle and stay home?
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  Some people don't want to socialize, but just be "around" people. There seems to be a difference. May be the stigma of drinking alone, where one is sometimes considered a drunk if one drinks alone.

crazypyro 10y ago

I would hypothesize that wanting shopping to be focused on convenience over the social aspect is a much more common opinion (see: online shopping) than wanting to go to a loud, crowdy, noisy environment where you can pay a premium to drink alcohol and not be social. I don't think that is a fair comparison at all. Somethings are inherently social, like going to a bar, where as others are much more of a grey area. I would argue that many of these have historically been social experiences out of necessity (no automated machines, no online shopping, etc.), not out of the need for social interaction.

JustSomeNobody 10y ago
My stepfather owned a bar for some decades. It's not quite as social as you would imagine. A great many people go there to drown "around" people, but not necessarily to drown "socially".
- pimlottc 10y ago
  Doesn't that even more show the value of just being around other people? It's definitely a lot cheaper to drink your own booze at home.
  - TeMPOraL 10y ago
    And that's what people do when e.g. they care more about economic considerations than social stigma of drinking alone.

pimlottc 10y ago

This is an excellent point. For thousands of years, the default was every interaction was social. The idea that you should be able to walk into a standardized store and converse with a clerk like they were an automated sales droid is only a fairly recent phenomenon. These faceless, purely functional transactions - they are exception, not the norm.

pshc 10y ago

The point of a bar is to socialize, or at least have company. Otherwise why not buy a bottle and stay home?

JustSomeNobody 10y ago
Some people don't want to socialize, but just be "around" people. There seems to be a difference. May be the stigma of drinking alone, where one is sometimes considered a drunk if one drinks alone.