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I also wonder how much of it is people desperately trying to undo the damages of stress. What people might really need is shorter work weeks and more time off (

I also wonder how much of it is people desperately trying to undo the damages of stress. What people might really need is shorter work weeks and more time off (including time away from social media and other non-work related stressors). But that's not something out culture really allows for or encourages. So we look to miracle cures so we can continue feeling productive.

GuiA 7y ago
I’d put it even further than “just” attempting to undo the damages of stress. The local community, where you’d buy your meat from your local butcher that had been in your neighborhood for 15 years, vegetables from the farmers’ market where the produce is all from within a 50 miles radius, where you go to church/temple/etc with the same faces every week, where the teachers and doctors that took care of you now take care of your children, etc, is pretty much dead. What has replaced it? Amazon Prime, precarious contractor jobs, cheap replaceable crap brought in by cargo ship, startups claiming that they are just like “a family”. Of course this leaves a gap in people’s need for a sense of place and community. Of course it’s the perfect opportunity for charlatans who know how to tap into exactly that.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  I don't really see how saunas, supplements, and fasting stand-in for "a sense of place and community". Maybe meditation retreats, but not most of the things mentioned in the article.
  - GuiA 7y ago
    You buy the supplements, get on the company’s mailing lists, go to the lectures, join Facebook groups with people following the same thing to share experiences, attend meetups, etc. Of course it’s a social, shared experience first and foremost.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > What has replaced it? Amazon Prime, precarious contractor jobs, cheap replaceable crap brought in by cargo ship, startups claiming that they are just like “a family”. Of course this leaves a gap in people’s need for a sense of place and community. Of course it’s the perfect opportunity for charlatans who know how to tap into exactly that. Long ago, I read this quip: (paraphrased) "Factory farming took a working integrated solution (use livestock waste to fertilize crops on the same diversified farm) and neatly turned it into two problems (where to dump the concentrated livestock waste from one specialized farm, and where to find fertilizer for the crops of another differently specialized farm)." Seems like a lot of modern "solutions" have the same character.

GuiA 7y ago

I’d put it even further than “just” attempting to undo the damages of stress. The local community, where you’d buy your meat from your local butcher that had been in your neighborhood for 15 years, vegetables from the farmers’ market where the produce is all from within a 50 miles radius, where you go to church/temple/etc with the same faces every week, where the teachers and doctors that took care of you now take care of your children, etc, is pretty much dead. What has replaced it? Amazon Prime, precarious contractor jobs, cheap replaceable crap brought in by cargo ship, startups claiming that they are just like “a family”. Of course this leaves a gap in people’s need for a sense of place and community. Of course it’s the perfect opportunity for charlatans who know how to tap into exactly that.

_bxg1 7y ago
I don't really see how saunas, supplements, and fasting stand-in for "a sense of place and community". Maybe meditation retreats, but not most of the things mentioned in the article.
- GuiA 7y ago
  You buy the supplements, get on the company’s mailing lists, go to the lectures, join Facebook groups with people following the same thing to share experiences, attend meetups, etc. Of course it’s a social, shared experience first and foremost.
CharlesColeman 7y ago
> What has replaced it? Amazon Prime, precarious contractor jobs, cheap replaceable crap brought in by cargo ship, startups claiming that they are just like “a family”. Of course this leaves a gap in people’s need for a sense of place and community. Of course it’s the perfect opportunity for charlatans who know how to tap into exactly that. Long ago, I read this quip: (paraphrased) "Factory farming took a working integrated solution (use livestock waste to fertilize crops on the same diversified farm) and neatly turned it into two problems (where to dump the concentrated livestock waste from one specialized farm, and where to find fertilizer for the crops of another differently specialized farm)." Seems like a lot of modern "solutions" have the same character.