297
Americans are lonely and it’s killing them. How the US can combat this new epidemic.
(www.usatoday.com)
American corporations: "how can we monetize this".
this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
297 points (96.8% liked)
News
23268 readers
2566 users here now
Welcome to the News community!
Rules:
1. Be civil
Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.
2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.
Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.
3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.
Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.
Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.
5. Only recent news is allowed.
Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.
6. All posts must be news articles.
No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
7. No duplicate posts.
If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.
8. Misinformation is prohibited.
Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.
9. No link shorteners.
The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.
10. Don't copy entire article in your post body
For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Ha, said Zuck at Facebook a long time ago.
I would say in chronological order, social media, violently divisive politics, and the forced isolation of COVID rendered me incapable of socializing anymore.
All of it has made me feel like I cannot function in the presence of others. I still have to go to the office to work, so that's pretty much the extent of interaction I get. Otherwise, outside of work, I tend to not speak at all to anybody.
I won't call it a happy life, but it's safe. I guess I've got whatever a word for social agoraphobia would be now.
I should note that I'm fifty one years old. The first four decades of my life were very social. Then it all gradually faded away.
It's like being bullied or grounded for some behavior crime over and over again. After a while a person stops caring about the things that got taken away and goes into suspension about liking anything because that too gets used as a weapon.
My MiL was just asking me about the places i hung out as a teen (40yo here) because in HER day they had teen social clubs and all. I looked at her as if she had a third eye lol. I think it was the local mall, or CCG/TTRPG shop for me in my town. In the area I’m at now they’ve practically banned teens from the mall after a certain time. I have no idea where my kiddos will be able to go when they’re older. Hopefully my red state doesn’t obliterate libraries at least, though I’m in a blue spot.
Everyone should be assigned a new middle name based on a random object and number. Then everyone with the same middle name should be considered cousins. I'll be Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11, for example. All the Daffodil-11s will be an extended family -- I'll have family everywhere I go. Drop a pin on a map and you'll find family members to meet or catch up with! Lonesome no more!
I don't even want to keep up with my real cousins.
Ah, the loneliness of the apple fallen too far from the tree is perhaps the greatest loneliness of all. A family unmoored from the millstone of genetics might just be the solution you need! Don't let your blood ties get you down, my friend. Recording and producing legend Quincy Jones? COUSIN (and you can call him "Q"!). Secretary of a society for the preservation of local birds, Maggie Mumphries (who I just made up)? PRIMOS. Renowned author and pediatrician Mark Vonnegut? Cut off your sleeves and crack open a Corona like Dom Turetto cuz you're FAMILY.
#LonesomeNoMore2024
I feel this on such a deep level you don't even know. Yamainwitch is always here for you my darlings! Cousins? Hell yeah! Siblings? Why not! For all my fellow unwanteds, I want you, I see you and I love you!!
I love your energy
If everybody is family like that, wouldn't it just lose it's entire meaning and family would stop being something to consider?
That's fine and dandy until cousin Joe Daffodil-11 stabs you at the Wendy's parking lot.
There are cultures around the world that work like this. I'm quite confident that I can knock on the door containing the symbol of my people anywhere in the world I can find it and with a few simple words be invited in for a meal and a visit.
You just gotta know the vampire code secret words.
Has the fed considered increasing federal wage to keep up with cost of living from the past 50 years? Maybe increasing taxes on ultra wealthy or even a wealth tax to pay for third places that use to exist?
I know what you're thinking: but how will they afford their seventh yacht for their fourth vacation home?
Well, no, because the Fed can't do any of those things.
Fed sounds fucking useless.
What exactly does this have to do with the article?
The solution is simple, just buy more consumer goods!
It's the Capitalism
Sad that I had to scroll to find the real answer. The problem is it’s too abstract for most to understand. Easier to blame technology.
I can recommend the read of The Soul at Work: From Alienation to Autonomy by Franco Berardi.
Alienation through the capitalization of the cognition. This coupled to the myth that the individual is responsible paved a way to isolation and loneliness.
I prefer to be lonely.
Alone != Lonely.
I prefer being alone but being lonely and not having the choice is really bad.
Being crowded and not having a choice is worse.
I personnaly disagree, getting out is easier than making connections for me.
But of course being stuck with people you don't like, or a family you hate sucks too
You guys wanna start a fight club?
That's why I'm glad I have friends I talk to every day, even if just online, and online communities I participate in, like through Lemmy or through Discord. It does help to stay connected to others.
You do get quality experiences from that? I feel most online communication platforms nowadays are basically "post and don't look back" or "comment once and bye". Before we had more dominantly forums where topics were discussed over a long period and even between the same people, and you'd easily recognize and connect with people. Lemmy (and reddit) also falls in the first category: you hardly make any connections and topics get abandoned after they disappeared from the front page.
that's what discord is nice for. I've got a group that talks in voice almost every day. we just hang out after work, play a game or two, talk about life. the classic stuff.
I've had some in-depth conversations through Lemmy and Discord, and even group voice chat gaming with friends through Discord. I can get meaningful communication experiences through these platforms IMO, yeah.
I prefer an early death to hanging out with you filthy animals.
I think the problem is literal mobility and social mobility. The friction between me and having a social experience ia huge. I have to drive, pay money to be in a private business space, and it all has to be easy enough to make happen that I can do it alone. We mostly have businesses and activities that suit multiple people going together.
So I imagine if there were more parks, more kinds of public activities, there was transit where Im surrounded by people going to the same place who I can ask for advice - that would be a huge improvement.
I'm not dead yet