3 ms·

Altitude as a proxy for isolation, perhaps

by wryoak 3y ago

scarmig 3y ago
> Controlling for... population density of each county,
- lm28469 3y ago
  It's a very weak indicator, I'm living in the densest city I ever lived in and I have less social life than ever. Random 5 seconds search: https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/2/suppl_1/19/5170860# https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/2/suppl_1/19/51... > Follow-up analyses showed there was a significant (p = .005) relationship between population density and isolation in Whites, Hispanics, and others, in that higher population density was associated with greater social isolation. In any case it's much more complex than "many people = no one feels alone" Also if you compare the "suicide by county" and "distance to nearest metro area" map there is a very nice overlap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Suicide_rate_by_county.webp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States#/... https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2018/02/REMOTE_purple_1k_small_cities_1k.png https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2018/02/...
  - rcarr 3y ago
    I'd say it's not necessarily isolation, but lack of opportunity. Presumably the higher up you are, the less transport links and settlements there are, so geographically you now have less opportunities within a commutable distance. When I say "opportunity" I mean it in a very general sense - it could be social opportunity, dating opportunity, work opportunity, hobby opportunity whatever. When you're deep in the hole of depression, by definition you have lost hope of things improving, which would indicate a dearth of opportunity or novel experiences that could change your mindset. I'd say that cities can feel extremely lonely, because you can see all these people all around you but you can't connect with any of them so you kind of feel disconnected or unwanted which heightens the feeling of loneliness. Wheres if you are in a rural location, you might be lonely for lack of people but feel that if you were to find some people that you would get on with them well. Tying this back to the original point, I think if you can take advantage of the huge variety of opportunities the city offers you can easily overcome "city loneliness" whereas "rural loneliness" is much harder to overcome - if you don't get on with the small set of people nearby or don't enjoy any of the small hobby groups available, you're shit out of luck in terms of social interaction and will have to either move, hope someone new moves nearby, attempt to start your own hobby club or get used to your own company.
- rhplus 3y ago
  Perhaps there’s some economic FOMO too. You can find coastal (sea level) town with the same population density and median incomes as mountain towns, but the former feels much more connected and accessible than the later. Even a large city like Denver has a remoteness about it… it’s either an 8+ hour drive to the next big city or you have to fly. Compared to west coast, east coast, gulf coast cities and counties, it might as well be an island.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
FollowingTheDao 3y ago
It is so frustrating that people have such a hard time that our mood can be effected by anything other than emotional inputs. It has nothing to do with isolation, it has to to how living in a place that does not match our genetics effects us as biologically animals. This effect is revealing the fact that people ho were genetically adapted to live ate low altitudes should not live at high altitudes.

Altitude as a proxy for isolation, perhaps

by wryoak 3y ago

Altitude as a proxy for isolation, perhaps

scarmig 3y ago

> Controlling for... population density of each county,

lm28469 3y ago
It's a very weak indicator, I'm living in the densest city I ever lived in and I have less social life than ever. Random 5 seconds search: https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/2/suppl_1/19/5170860# https://academic.oup.com/innovateage/article/2/suppl_1/19/51... > Follow-up analyses showed there was a significant (p = .005) relationship between population density and isolation in Whites, Hispanics, and others, in that higher population density was associated with greater social isolation. In any case it's much more complex than "many people = no one feels alone" Also if you compare the "suicide by county" and "distance to nearest metro area" map there is a very nice overlap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Suicide_rate_by_county.webp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States#/... https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2018/02/REMOTE_purple_1k_small_cities_1k.png https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2018/02/...
- rcarr 3y ago
  I'd say it's not necessarily isolation, but lack of opportunity. Presumably the higher up you are, the less transport links and settlements there are, so geographically you now have less opportunities within a commutable distance. When I say "opportunity" I mean it in a very general sense - it could be social opportunity, dating opportunity, work opportunity, hobby opportunity whatever. When you're deep in the hole of depression, by definition you have lost hope of things improving, which would indicate a dearth of opportunity or novel experiences that could change your mindset. I'd say that cities can feel extremely lonely, because you can see all these people all around you but you can't connect with any of them so you kind of feel disconnected or unwanted which heightens the feeling of loneliness. Wheres if you are in a rural location, you might be lonely for lack of people but feel that if you were to find some people that you would get on with them well. Tying this back to the original point, I think if you can take advantage of the huge variety of opportunities the city offers you can easily overcome "city loneliness" whereas "rural loneliness" is much harder to overcome - if you don't get on with the small set of people nearby or don't enjoy any of the small hobby groups available, you're shit out of luck in terms of social interaction and will have to either move, hope someone new moves nearby, attempt to start your own hobby club or get used to your own company.
rhplus 3y ago
Perhaps there’s some economic FOMO too. You can find coastal (sea level) town with the same population density and median incomes as mountain towns, but the former feels much more connected and accessible than the later. Even a large city like Denver has a remoteness about it… it’s either an 8+ hour drive to the next big city or you have to fly. Compared to west coast, east coast, gulf coast cities and counties, it might as well be an island.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

FollowingTheDao 3y ago

It is so frustrating that people have such a hard time that our mood can be effected by anything other than emotional inputs. It has nothing to do with isolation, it has to to how living in a place that does not match our genetics effects us as biologically animals. This effect is revealing the fact that people ho were genetically adapted to live ate low altitudes should not live at high altitudes.