Loneliness as a Disease of the Times——Reading Notes of "Lonely Century"
The title of the book "Century of Solitude" is very attractive to me. It is true that since the new crown epidemic in 2020, isolation and blockade have become commonplace, and it is indeed "lonely" every day. However, the author of this book tells us that the trend of loneliness is not just caused by the epidemic, but a precursor to it. The author believes that this can be traced back to the rise of neo-liberalism in the 1980s. The model of quick success, competition and small government advocated by it has gradually put individual interests above the community, and it has become a trend and spread to the world. Although it can have a temporary effect, the result is that the disparity between the rich and the poor has increased, coupled with the indifference of human feelings and self-interested competition, which has accelerated social differentiation, and buried the cause of isolation and loneliness between people. The new crown epidemic is just the catalyst.
Tracing the antecedents, the author then explores the impact of "loneliness" on people. For example, it directly causes a decrease in immunity, an increased chance of cancer, an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and dementia. On the contrary, a life of community and mutual assistance is beneficial to health, which confirms the proverb that "giving is more blessed than receiving." A hotbed of ideology, pointing out that because people feel excluded, their interests and opinions are not valued, and long-term isolation from the community also makes it increasingly difficult to cope with differences, accommodate dissent, and trust others, which allows agitators to take advantage of the situation The rise of right-wing populist politics.
How is loneliness formed? The book talks about how loneliness breeds and permeates from the structural characteristics of cities. The rapid pace of life and high-load work culture have squeezed people's social leisure; rapid population flow, high living costs, and rootless living patterns have interrupted people's opportunities to connect with the community; in order to prevent homeless people, cities have The introduction of "hostile buildings" such as chairs that make people unable to lie down has deepened the gap between people; including mobile phones, tablets and other smart devices, and the rise of social media, this is to promote People's connection, but it may take away most of people's attention, and they have no time to communicate with others face-to-face. It will also promote a culture of comparison and collective bullying, and make social interaction a one-sided performance field, which deviates from the original intention; remote office, The gig economy has reduced the communication and social interaction with colleagues, and the treatment of freelancers is even lower than that of employees. With the continuous development of science and technology, various monitoring and evaluation technologies used in the workplace have become more and more sophisticated, causing greater oppression, exploitation, and even discrimination on employees. Machines are replaced, unemployment is rising, people's value is falling, and feelings of helplessness and loneliness arise spontaneously.
Loneliness is now so ubiquitous, what should be done about it? The authors argue that loneliness is not formed by a single force, but rather as an ecosystem that requires systematic economic, political, and social change and recognition of where conscious individual responsibility lies. Fundamentally, it is necessary to reverse the neoliberal view of profit-seeking and individualism, regain the value of caring and compassion, and "reconnect capitalism with caring and compassion"; the government must invest more resources in welfare, social security, education and In medicine, slowing down the process of machines replacing humans. For example, the "Social Prescription Note" program in the United Kingdom dispatches "connection workers" who cooperate with general practitioner clinics to support various groups of people with mental illness, alienation or loneliness; build more libraries, clubs or community centers, Hire all kinds of art and cultural workers; train care workers for the elderly and young; formulate a more comprehensive happiness index to measure well-being; improve the mechanism of parliament and social consultation, so that the voices of all kinds of people can be heard; implement a property vacancy tax, Control rents to enable community businesses to survive; create more public space; introduce more social service programs that enable residents to participate, strengthen community cohesion, and more.
After reading this book, the author provides many interesting examples and practices from around the world, and can also deepen the theme of loneliness: not only the physical separation of individuals, but also the feeling of being excluded and insignificant. , lack of connection with the community, and gradually become indifferent, differentiated, sensitive, hostile, etc. tendencies and processes. One example of a biological experiment cited was particularly instructive: the longer the mice were isolated, the more aggressive they became toward the newcomers. In fact, since the outbreak of the epidemic, there have been many "epidemic prevention attacks" in the society in which they were persuaded to wear masks or show health codes and attack convenience store clerks or security guards. Because of prolonged isolation, people may also become irritable and easy-going. Anger, even if it's just a very reasonable request for epidemic prevention, is considered to be making things difficult, and thus aggressive behavior occurs, which is a symptom of mental fragility. A little further, the cases of indiscriminate attacks and lone wolf attacks (the recent arson incident in Xinhua school may be a lone wolf attack, which should not be taken lightly) are also mostly caused by frustrated, isolated and marginalized people. It is difficult to understand that it is precisely because they do not consider themselves a member of the community that they oppose and retaliate against them. From a macro perspective, social movements in Hong Kong in recent years are often accompanied by various types of depression and bipolar mood disorders. , which is also a reflection of the fact that many people in the community and society feel that they are marginalized, isolated and neglected. In this era, depression and bipolar depression are the symptoms, and the internal cause is the intensification of social polarization, the fragmentation of communities, and the isolation of individuals. It is indeed the "century of loneliness."
For Macau, I think some of the guidelines for building a community in the book are worth learning from. For the construction of new urban areas, it is necessary to plan in advance to create a soil suitable for social enterprises to survive, so that talented entrepreneurs have room to display; when urban renewal and private enterprises are cooperating to build houses, conditions can also be considered, such as restricting the construction of certain buildings. community-like spaces, social facilities, etc. Moreover, due to the current rectification of the gaming industry and the rise in unemployment, there may be a group of new isolates in the social and economic sense. How to properly settle and transition so as not to have too many tragedies, all of which require the joint efforts of the society.
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