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> I really believe that the "loneliness epidemic" is a product of a generation that socializes almost completely online, and has no connection with their commu

> I really believe that the "loneliness epidemic" is a product of a generation that socializes almost completely online, and has no connection with their community. I agree about "connection with their community" but I'm less sure that socializing online is the root cause, though I agree it almost certainly a contributing factor at this point. I live in a developing country which has substantially more street life, community, know your neighbors, etc than most places US/Australia/Europe. And a lot of it is simply due to the quality of housing. When you've got 6 family members living in a house that might only be 300 square feet and there's no air conditioning...there's little surprise that in the evening so many people are sitting outside where natural interactions happen. I can't find a reference now but I saw an academic article showing the same effect in the US South. There used to be a "porch culture" where in the evenings people would sit outside on their porches. This made it much easier for neighbors to interact. Then with the rise of air conditioning, suddenly being inside was noticeably more comfortable than being outside. And it isn't just air conditioning. Consider all of the other changes in the past -- I dunno, 30 years? -- that have made "being inside" much more comfortable. When I was a kid it was pretty common for kids to share bedrooms, for a house to have only a single television, there were only three TV stations anyway, definitely no handheld gaming/video watching/etc...all of those things were factors that would push you to go outside.

dx87 6y ago
I think another thing could be how easy it is to only interact with people who share your interests when you were raised doing it mainly online. Older coworkers have said that before the Internet became widely used, being able to find common ground with your neighbors and coworkers was the only way to have any social interaction. Now though, it's so easy to find an online group with common interests that it can seem like a chore to talk to someone who doesn't share a lot of things in common. Even when people do go out in social situations, it's not uncommon to see a lot of people sitting on their phones. Like you said, air conditioning made it so you didn't have to interact as much if you didn't want to. Now with the Internet, you can sit in the AC all day and think you are being social because you're talking to likeminded people online, even though you likely aren't making meaningful connections. As an aside, my wife is from the US South, and what you read is spot on. Even if it wasn't sitting on the porch, it might be going to a local creek or lake to cool off. Even now with AC, it's not uncommon for friends or family to be driving by the house and decide to stop by and talk just because it's part of the culture now.
jackcosgrove 6y ago
We embrace isolation and anomie as we have more disposable income. It's our choice because we find value in comfort and privacy. The best argument to be made that this is a poor choice is that we discount the work needed to maintain social relationships, and chase after bright shiny things at the loss of something more valuable. You could also say that we discount the discomfort of living close to others after we have achieved some separation. I definitely think being poor is romanticized by some strains of thought. I think a desire for authentic community is a mark of material affluence, and should not be seen as a regression. The community we desire is not actually authentic. We don't want to be around poverty or dysfunction or addiction, which are all elements of authentic communities. We want a sanitized community. It's just the next ask after air conditioning.

dx87 6y ago

I think another thing could be how easy it is to only interact with people who share your interests when you were raised doing it mainly online. Older coworkers have said that before the Internet became widely used, being able to find common ground with your neighbors and coworkers was the only way to have any social interaction. Now though, it's so easy to find an online group with common interests that it can seem like a chore to talk to someone who doesn't share a lot of things in common. Even when people do go out in social situations, it's not uncommon to see a lot of people sitting on their phones. Like you said, air conditioning made it so you didn't have to interact as much if you didn't want to. Now with the Internet, you can sit in the AC all day and think you are being social because you're talking to likeminded people online, even though you likely aren't making meaningful connections. As an aside, my wife is from the US South, and what you read is spot on. Even if it wasn't sitting on the porch, it might be going to a local creek or lake to cool off. Even now with AC, it's not uncommon for friends or family to be driving by the house and decide to stop by and talk just because it's part of the culture now.

jackcosgrove 6y ago

We embrace isolation and anomie as we have more disposable income. It's our choice because we find value in comfort and privacy. The best argument to be made that this is a poor choice is that we discount the work needed to maintain social relationships, and chase after bright shiny things at the loss of something more valuable. You could also say that we discount the discomfort of living close to others after we have achieved some separation. I definitely think being poor is romanticized by some strains of thought. I think a desire for authentic community is a mark of material affluence, and should not be seen as a regression. The community we desire is not actually authentic. We don't want to be around poverty or dysfunction or addiction, which are all elements of authentic communities. We want a sanitized community. It's just the next ask after air conditioning.