A Nation of Homebodies: A recent study shows Americans are spending notably more time at home, a trend that started long before the pandemic.
A Nation of Homebodies
You're viewing a single thread.
Maybe US cities lack public spaces and no one can afford to do things in the private spaces?
What would you even do? Read a book, play a game, browse your phone, or something in these public spaces? What’s the difference between at home and in a public space with people?
People always talk about public spaces as if magically they would pull people in simply by existing and everyone would socialize with anyone else that showed up. That’s not what happens in reality though, because there are still public places in America and yet here we are anyway.
What would you even do? Read a book, ...? What’s the difference between at home and in a public space with people?
I went on a few dates with a woman who saw me reading a book in public and started a conversation. I'm not a social person, but talking to strangers is nice, from time to time.
We're social animals. Most of us benefit from interaction. Society is better when we interact with people outside our normal bubbles.
Drink
...a posh private reading lounge recently opened in our city, well-stocked with whisky and cigars...
I saw a naked man masturbating on a unicycle once. So that's always an option.
There is no "third place" anymore. Unless you go to church or some shit.
Makes you wonder how much the rise of conservative evangelical Christianity and megachurches has to do with sheer social desperation.
You can do a potluck cheaply at someone's home. It's that people don't
Maybe they're exhausted after working 3 jobs to pay rent.
That's long been true for a chunk of the population. It's not enough to explain the trend
That chunk is getting bigger though.
...yeah, i don't have time for social dinners; after three hours commute to-and-from a useless trophy-office in the city, i'm exhausted and already running late for work by the time i get home...