6 ms·

We need deeper, local, and more meaningful social interactions, and less shallow, global, low quality connections. In the course of the last 12000 years, we've

We need deeper, local, and more meaningful social interactions, and less shallow, global, low quality connections. In the course of the last 12000 years, we've evolved from small, hunter-gatherer tribes, to highly dense, highly competitive, modern human establishments, and in the process have created a world perhaps too complex to successfully navigate without properly augmenting our intellects and social abilities. It seems that much of the technology we have developed recently hasn’t worked in our favor, but rather against us, and one consequence might very well be loneliness. No matter what we decide the proper course of action is to successfully address the challenges of modern life, we must not forget that the only way forward is to accept our shared destiny and the need for collaboration. After all, we’re in this together. There’s no need to fight.

paulcole 8y ago
> It seems that much of the technology we have developed recently hasn’t worked in our favor, but rather against us Tell that to my insulin, my grandma who had a kidney transplant, my coworker conceiving via IVF, the kid down the street who called 911 on his iPhone when somebody tried to kidnap him...
- alexandercrohde 8y ago
  To some extent some of those problems are better solved without technology. - The diabetes and obesity crisis in America can't be cured by technology. - IVF is often due to advanced aging, due to pressure to work later - There was a time when kids could be left unattended 100 years ago. I'm curious why this has changed so much.
  - tonyedgecombe 8y ago
    Type 1 diabetes can't be cured nor avoided by lifestyle changes.
    - xattt 8y ago
      Type 1 diabetes isn’t related to obesity.
  - arcticbull 8y ago
    Agreed, technology is often the easy way out of things that can and when possible should be solved without, Type II is a great example of this. It costs 1 in 4 healthcare dollars in the US. [1] It is curable, permanently, through diet and weight loss, and as recent studies show potentially just fasting [2]. Kids can be left unattended right now in Japan, it's also a cultural thing. There was a great Citylab writeup about this a few years back. It's typical for Japanese children to run errands alone via the subway at age six. FTA "'[Japanese] kids learn early on that, ideally, any member of the community can be called on to serve or help others.'" [3] [1] http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2018/03/20/dci18-0007 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2018/03/20/dc... [2] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223124259.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223124259.h... [3] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/09/why-are-little-kids-in-japan-so-independent/407590/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/09/why-are-littl...
  - paulcole 8y ago
    Learn more about diabetes.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  Or, stick to the HN guidelines. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - meesterdude 8y ago
    I think this attempts to disregard the very real, human experiences and emotions of the commentator for the sake of self satisfaction, and only serves to alienate. Even if you're right, there are other ways to go about it.
WalterSear 8y ago
We just need 20 hour work weeks and a decent standard of living, rather than money being creamed off the top.
- PioNono 8y ago
  I take no joy in saying this, but I suspect that all else being equal, the result of this would be that people would just spend more time consuming media in isolation. Not basing this on feelings, but rather on having been up close with some (anonymized) wireless network datasets. People of all incomes and social strata spend absurd amounts of time in solipsistic media consumption.
  - coldtea 8y ago
    It's easy to spend "absurd amounts of time in solipsistic media consumption" is you're weighted down after a 10+-hour work day, or an 8-hour work day + a couple hours of commute, and all others you know are in similar schedules...
    - wepple 8y ago
      Yeah, for those of us with a very finite and easily depleted amount of energy for social interaction, it’s conpletely empty by the time you get home or Saturday rolls around. Net result is, you avoid even eye contact with the person who lives 10m from you.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- BurningFrog 8y ago
  Work is the most meaningful part of many people's lives.
  - didibus 8y ago
    That seems to be cultural. I remember reading some study about it. Americans socialize through work, and make friends at work. Thus, work is their life. But in Europe for example, this wasn't the case. And thus they worked to live out their other activities, instead of living to work.
Razengan 8y ago
> We need deeper, local, and more meaningful social interactions, and less shallow, global, low quality connections. I would be fine with just relaxing in public places like parks without actually having to interact with anyone, unless some people appear to share interests. Sadly, safe, clean public places seem to be an exception rather than the norm in the world at large, at least from what little I've seen of it. So we go back inside enclosures that are commercial establishments (coffeehouses, restaurants etc.) in order to be around other people, but interacting with other patrons there is kind of a social taboo. From my time on the planet I can only think of video game arcades from my childhood as the best examples of places where people got together to have safe fun and often interacted with each other out of choice and had even more fun in doing so.
- odiroot 8y ago
  > Sadly, safe, clean public places seem to be an exception rather than the norm in the world at large, at least from what little I've seen of it. Visit Central/Eastern Europe. These places are a norm in there.
  - eafkuor 8y ago
    Or Japan
  - Itsnotallbad 8y ago
    Or Australia.
  - mrwukong 8y ago
    Where exactly?
- drakonka 8y ago
  We have many of those places where I live, but I still don't take advantage of them. I think I'll try to change that and spend more time around other people in nature even if not directly interacting with them. Edit: I realized I wrote this outside of a small cafe in my neighborhood, with people talking, relaxing on their own, and having breakfast. I consider myself an introvert but always seem to work better in cafes like this, with people around (especially if those people are also working). I always thought it was due to the tentative time limit making me focus better on the task at hand (since it would be rude to stay too long in a cafe), but now I'm wondering if just the proximity to other people might also be helping.
jplayer01 8y ago
I heavily disagree regarding deep local relationships. While those are important, people seem to forget how important passing acquaintances are and how useful they can be in saving off loneliness. Not every interaction needs to be deep in order to have value.

paulcole 8y ago

> It seems that much of the technology we have developed recently hasn’t worked in our favor, but rather against us Tell that to my insulin, my grandma who had a kidney transplant, my coworker conceiving via IVF, the kid down the street who called 911 on his iPhone when somebody tried to kidnap him...

alexandercrohde 8y ago
To some extent some of those problems are better solved without technology. - The diabetes and obesity crisis in America can't be cured by technology. - IVF is often due to advanced aging, due to pressure to work later - There was a time when kids could be left unattended 100 years ago. I'm curious why this has changed so much.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  Type 1 diabetes can't be cured nor avoided by lifestyle changes.
  - xattt 8y ago
    Type 1 diabetes isn’t related to obesity.
- arcticbull 8y ago
  Agreed, technology is often the easy way out of things that can and when possible should be solved without, Type II is a great example of this. It costs 1 in 4 healthcare dollars in the US. [1] It is curable, permanently, through diet and weight loss, and as recent studies show potentially just fasting [2]. Kids can be left unattended right now in Japan, it's also a cultural thing. There was a great Citylab writeup about this a few years back. It's typical for Japanese children to run errands alone via the subway at age six. FTA "'[Japanese] kids learn early on that, ideally, any member of the community can be called on to serve or help others.'" [3] [1] http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2018/03/20/dci18-0007 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2018/03/20/dc... [2] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223124259.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170223124259.h... [3] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/09/why-are-little-kids-in-japan-so-independent/407590/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/09/why-are-littl...
- paulcole 8y ago
  Learn more about diabetes.
TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
Or, stick to the HN guidelines. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- meesterdude 8y ago
  I think this attempts to disregard the very real, human experiences and emotions of the commentator for the sake of self satisfaction, and only serves to alienate. Even if you're right, there are other ways to go about it.

WalterSear 8y ago

We just need 20 hour work weeks and a decent standard of living, rather than money being creamed off the top.

PioNono 8y ago
I take no joy in saying this, but I suspect that all else being equal, the result of this would be that people would just spend more time consuming media in isolation. Not basing this on feelings, but rather on having been up close with some (anonymized) wireless network datasets. People of all incomes and social strata spend absurd amounts of time in solipsistic media consumption.
- coldtea 8y ago
  It's easy to spend "absurd amounts of time in solipsistic media consumption" is you're weighted down after a 10+-hour work day, or an 8-hour work day + a couple hours of commute, and all others you know are in similar schedules...
  - wepple 8y ago
    Yeah, for those of us with a very finite and easily depleted amount of energy for social interaction, it’s conpletely empty by the time you get home or Saturday rolls around. Net result is, you avoid even eye contact with the person who lives 10m from you.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
BurningFrog 8y ago
Work is the most meaningful part of many people's lives.
- didibus 8y ago
  That seems to be cultural. I remember reading some study about it. Americans socialize through work, and make friends at work. Thus, work is their life. But in Europe for example, this wasn't the case. And thus they worked to live out their other activities, instead of living to work.

Razengan 8y ago

> We need deeper, local, and more meaningful social interactions, and less shallow, global, low quality connections. I would be fine with just relaxing in public places like parks without actually having to interact with anyone, unless some people appear to share interests. Sadly, safe, clean public places seem to be an exception rather than the norm in the world at large, at least from what little I've seen of it. So we go back inside enclosures that are commercial establishments (coffeehouses, restaurants etc.) in order to be around other people, but interacting with other patrons there is kind of a social taboo. From my time on the planet I can only think of video game arcades from my childhood as the best examples of places where people got together to have safe fun and often interacted with each other out of choice and had even more fun in doing so.

odiroot 8y ago
> Sadly, safe, clean public places seem to be an exception rather than the norm in the world at large, at least from what little I've seen of it. Visit Central/Eastern Europe. These places are a norm in there.
- eafkuor 8y ago
  Or Japan
- Itsnotallbad 8y ago
  Or Australia.
- mrwukong 8y ago
  Where exactly?
drakonka 8y ago
We have many of those places where I live, but I still don't take advantage of them. I think I'll try to change that and spend more time around other people in nature even if not directly interacting with them. Edit: I realized I wrote this outside of a small cafe in my neighborhood, with people talking, relaxing on their own, and having breakfast. I consider myself an introvert but always seem to work better in cafes like this, with people around (especially if those people are also working). I always thought it was due to the tentative time limit making me focus better on the task at hand (since it would be rude to stay too long in a cafe), but now I'm wondering if just the proximity to other people might also be helping.

jplayer01 8y ago

I heavily disagree regarding deep local relationships. While those are important, people seem to forget how important passing acquaintances are and how useful they can be in saving off loneliness. Not every interaction needs to be deep in order to have value.