Gilly Gunson on Nostr: I've been thinking in the last week about the various recent articles about the ...
I've been thinking in the last week about the various recent articles about the "loneliness epidemic" in men. Long before 2020 I was reading articles about how men on average don't have strong friendships, that many consider their wives their best friends, which can be a lot of emotional baggage to put on the wife (this is what the articles said)...
I don't think there's been a change in the people in the last decade. I think it's that the circumstances that have gotten worse. With all the exponentially increasing problems people are dealing with (basics being unaffordable, overwork and gig economy, climate change, forever-covid, wars, fascism) the lack of friendship hits way, way harder. Plus society trains everyone to not talk about the bad stuff.
I worry that such articles are pointing at the wrong thing, or just one of the factors. If you have fewer worries, the less you need close friendships to get by. It's hard to build community when you're struggling even to feed yourself.
I don't think there's been a change in the people in the last decade. I think it's that the circumstances that have gotten worse. With all the exponentially increasing problems people are dealing with (basics being unaffordable, overwork and gig economy, climate change, forever-covid, wars, fascism) the lack of friendship hits way, way harder. Plus society trains everyone to not talk about the bad stuff.
I worry that such articles are pointing at the wrong thing, or just one of the factors. If you have fewer worries, the less you need close friendships to get by. It's hard to build community when you're struggling even to feed yourself.