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I had read elsewhere that in Iceland, the swimming pools fill that social role. They have a very strong culture surrounding that. It seems to me there's basica
by slothtrop 3y ago
I had read elsewhere that in Iceland, the swimming pools fill that social role. They have a very strong culture surrounding that.
It seems to me there's basically no equivalent in the U.S. & Canada, or at least, not one that is consistent across the countries. There's a coffee shop "culture", but not in the capacity of striking up conversation.
We end up using contrived means to merely signal to one another that we want to talk (i.e. social apps). These would be rendered redundant if there was a "space" where this was expected. Maybe the virtualized always-online shift of daily life has destroyed this. I would grant that there are Irish Pubs in the area that are frequented by older regulars, where striking up conversation is probably more of an expectation, but young people don't go there.
- jamal-kumar 3y agoCanada and the USA are generally still places where you can strike up conversation with people at bars and carry on a conversation about sports or whatever. It doesn't really get much deeper than that, though, and good luck running into any smart opinions if you bother to try... I just remember encountering a ton of bigoted drunken ranting.
- derefr 3y agoHypothesis: an implicit secondary reason that so many young people want to be social-media "influencers", is that holding a microphone and having a cameraman following you, creates a magic circle of this kind of "space" around your own person, such that people who ordinarily would never give you the time of day will be perfectly willing to talk to you for a video.
- skciva 3y agoIn the US it exists but you have to be a bit more aware of body language and such. Not everyone is as open. But generally communities exist all around you in the US, you may just not be aware of them.* * This is strictly in the cities. Suburban life is where isolation and loneliness thrive.
- slothtrop 3y agoExamples?
- sfink 3y agoThe cities and the countryside, actually. In rural areas, you may spend most of your time in your own territory, but when you encounter other people they'll probably stop and chat. (For one, when your cows get out and into your neighbor's field for the 6th time that year, you want to be on good enough terms to be able to go fetch them back...) Suburbia is where we can have exactly what we think we want, and thereby discover that we're wrong.
- slothtrop 3y agoI talk to my neighbors in the suburbs, something that has never occurred in denser areas. There's no reason for 'burbs by function and design to be "less friendly" than the countryside.