4 ms·
Even though the direct effects of the pandemic have mostly disappeared, it still does not undo the years of staying at home that we have become accustomed and h
by samtho 3y ago
Even though the direct effects of the pandemic have mostly disappeared, it still does not undo the years of staying at home that we have become accustomed and habituated to.
Rapid inflation didn’t help, either. For those lucky enough to survive layoffs, they doubled down on work either dedicating more of their time or attempted to insulate their risk by becoming overemployed. Those who have time for friend outings may not feel as if they can afford the cost and those who have money for friend outings may not feel as if they can afford the time.
The rapid rise and acceptance of a remote workforce has led to fewer face-to-face interactions among coworkers. Social circles, that would be expanded by crossing different groups of your friends and acquaintances together, are dwindling due to both natural attrition and because people just see each other less often, weakening social bonds over time.
Then when we all get together despite all odds of us actually meeting up, gatherings kind of just devolve to a bunch of loosely connected people looking at our phones. It’s tragically ironic that the device we use for instant communication ended up putting distance between all of us.
I think we need to make more of an effort to spend time that is of sufficient quality with other people, even if that means our social norms need to change, e.g. phone usage when with others, actively reaching out, etc.
- timeagain 3y agoAll these “we” statements should be “me” statements. So many people are ready to take what they’re given, but you can opt out. Find in-person work. Throw out your phone. Live close to your friends. Drop in on your neighbors. Become a regular at the gym. Become a regular at the bar. Talk to people on the bus. Notice which flowers bloom in what order in the spring. If all you seek is comfort you’ll find it as you sit alone eating take out in a fully furnished apartment waiting to die. If what you want is community and to be present in the only life you have, you have to work hard to find it and maintain it.
- Keeeeeeeks 3y ago> All these “we” statements should be “me” statements. And all of your sentences ought to have "I think that" at the beginning; while reading OPs message as a sign of victimhood instead of a statement of fact gives you the opportunity to sharpen your sense of self against it, it gives the appearance of signaling more than it gives actionable advice. otoh, if the former was your goal, I misread intent.
- korse 3y ago>If all you seek is comfort you’ll find it as you sit alone eating take out in a fully furnished apartment waiting to die. If what you want is community and to be present in the only life you have, you have to work hard to find it and maintain it. Hard to argue with the last line though. Many people become victims of society through their own inaction.
- keiferski 3y agoThat is the point being made, though: this shouldn’t be a “me” activity and it used to be an easy thing to maintain, not one you had to deliberately swim against the tide to make.
- BoiledCabbage 3y agoPeople are going to look back on cellphones and the swapping from generally in person interaction to screen based interaction as one of the single most disruptive and harmful changes to society. Everything from lost conversational ability, to decline in healthy dating, to the the proportion of consumption that is unhealthy social media, to loneliness, to internet addiction, to educational skill and reading comprehension, attention span, mental health. Look at almost any graph of negative effect on society (10x if you look just at teenagers) and just about everything fell off a cliff beginning around 2012 or so with the rise of the smart phone. It's crazy how widespread it's effects have been.
- swed420 3y agoMost seem to have tricked themselves into believing otherwise, but unfortunately COVID and its risks are far from over. https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/how-the-press-manufactured-consent https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/how-the-press-manufactured-co... https://whn.global/scientific/covid19-immune-dysregulation/ https://whn.global/scientific/covid19-immune-dysregulation/ https://whn.global/scientific/covid-effects-on-the-brain-a-summary-and-resource/ https://whn.global/scientific/covid-effects-on-the-brain-a-s... Stay safe out there.
- marssaxman 3y agoAre they really "tricking themselves"? It seems more likely to me that different people simply have different risk tolerances, in both degree and kind.
- swed420 3y agoSeems to be a complex combination of things in my experience probing people on what they do and don't know about risks and precautions. Would be easier if capitalist media didn't lie to people to prop up its archaic consumption based economy.
- tarboreus 3y agoSure, and the flu isn't over, either, last time I checked it's still circulating and a large number of people die every year from it. Eventually you have to go live your life.
- swed420 3y agoMore died of COVID in Jan 2024 than total flu deaths of 2023. COVID also leaves far more people disabled from post acute sequelae. That's not living your life imo.