Quote (thesnipa @ Apr 15 2024 12:14pm)
pre-internet people had 2 choices, find a way to start a family or in your 30s be alone. the internet gives people a false hope that they can be in a social network without in person direct family connections, or at the least a spouse.
i think it's acted as a safety net to inhibit people from forcing themselves to settle down and put down roots. in a general sense.
and obviously its a complex spiderweb of venn diagrams and causality correlation crossover. people cant afford houses, online dating and social media make people jaded and less faithful, mental health is under attack generally from unrealistic social media comparisons, etc.
still the people i know who found their way to wives/husbands and families are starting to come out ahead. when i was 25 i wouldnt have said that. the unattached non parents were thriving, bars on the weekends, spending whatever they wanted. now in our mid 30s they're all pretty much depressed and lonely. begging us to find babysitters to relive the glory days, unaware we're going home at 8 even if we do.
I think we agree more than we disagree, which my initial reply wasn't great at conveying. Definitely people who have family connection fair much better, by large virtue that we are social creatures that need and seek connection.
Where my initial reply was mostly geared towards is the idea that people are coming up in the world with a "I don't need anyone / I like my independence" mindset. I haven't seen this much, personally (which isn't to say that it's not true). Rather, I have seen the opposite where people are desperate for connection but they simply have no idea on how to meet people or make friends.