798
on the male loneliness epidemic
(lemmy.blahaj.zone)
Show transcript
Screenshot of a Tumblr post by nongunktional:
when i first heard about the male loneliness epidemic i was like oh yeah close camaraderie and bonding between men is often discouraged in favor of competition or, if not discouraged, at least filtered through a lens of individualism that precludes deep connections. and then i learned what people meant by it (men arent getting laid) to which i say skill issue
to all the men out there not getting laid: try less hard to get laid and try more hard to be an enjoyable and relaxing presence
no, make loneliness epidemic is exactly what's described in the first post. societal norms mostly hinder men from forming meaningful friendships with other men, and women as well. they're discouraged from expressing feelings (maybe other than aggressive ones) and being vulnerable. i don't know how you can form any relationships without doing either. and turns out you really can't. hence a lot of men feel lonely.
If that’s the definition, then this “epidemic” has been the case since forever. You think guys in the 1950’s were opening up and being vulnerable?
If you really want to be pedantic with your analogies, there's an epidemic among both men and women but men are hit worse due to a preexisting condition.
it's much worse now. at least people used to socialize outside. people are more isolated than ever today. the pandemic broke people's brains too.
I guess I’m too old to empathize. I’m GenX and I do all the outside/talk to people stuff. I’m sure I’m out of touch at this point. I see kids around me doing it too, but that’s probably selection bias.
you and me both. I'm a millennial but I'm just not into social media, except for this (and reddit before this) but i never count them as social media in the same sense as Instagram, TikTok etc. i see little kids passively scrolling through mind numbing videos and i have no hope for the future. there's no way people can think and function normally when they grow up in this environment.
Yeah. I will say I was a loner nerdy kid, and that wasn’t by choice. I hid in my house after school with my only friend, the NES. My parents were duly concerned and tried to get me to play sports, join clubs, etc. I was having none of it since I was scared for my physical and mental safety. I turned out “fine”, as I have a good job, loving spouse, and friends IRL. I do attribute that in part to not using any social media in the same sense you have said.
In the past, it was expected that men would have closer relationships with each other. Then we had the whole backlash against the hippie movement and it became "gay" and "bad" to swap handjobs with your bros in the basement den.