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A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

nytimes.com

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Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#61

Post by chis »

andygcook wrote: post #36

Elder loneliness is something I think about a lot. My grandparents on my father’s side are both 94. They’re also both hard of hearing. My grandpa had scarlett fever as a child and went almost deaf. He struggled through school and eventually got hearing aids in his 20’s. A huge improvement for him and every time he recounts that story he revels at the wonders of technology. I like to think my love of tech just runs in…

This is a really cool idea. You could totally get on shark tank, they love stuff like this.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#62

Post by theklub »

andygcook wrote: post #36

Elder loneliness is something I think about a lot. My grandparents on my father’s side are both 94. They’re also both hard of hearing. My grandpa had scarlett fever as a child and went almost deaf. He struggled through school and eventually got hearing aids in his 20’s. A huge improvement for him and every time he recounts that story he revels at the wonders of technology. I like to think my love of tech just runs in…

So this whole comment was an ad? Great marketing.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#63

Post by autokad »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #58
autokad wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

having a child is for the parents, not the child. the parents happiness and goals comes first, not the child. its sad that people have forgotten that. the parents end up miserable, and guess who else will end up miserable? you guessed it, the child. wanting to have a child as to not be lonely in life is terrible? most kids are had for no reason at all, and its not terrible either. plus, I am pretty sure for 3 billion…

That sounds like a twisted sort of indentured servitude - "I gave you life, so you owe me". I think you might be better served getting yourself a dog.

when did I say anything about "I gave you life, so you owe me"? if I have a child for what ever reason, I should still be a good parent. I think the same is true for owning a dog....

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#64

Post by Cthulhu_ »

icc97 wrote: post #40

So who has made plans for once you're over say 80? There's the GYST website [0], but that doesn't handle what to do when you're still alive. I don't think you can rely on kids, they'll only be there maximum for a couple of hours per week if you're lucky. [0]: https://www.gyst.com/

Hopefully by then self-driving cars are a thing so I can just tour around the world and err. Actually nvm I don't like that, I hope I'll be able to play and enjoy video games all day then, call the young ones n00bs and troll them for not knowing what a n00b is.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#65

Post by klibertp »

autokad wrote: post #32
intended wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a terrible reason. Add : bringing in a fully autonomous individual motivated by the hope+belief+expectation that they will be there when you grow old? Small chance, considering that the human trait which they need to be subscribed to is empathy, self-lessness and family. A lot of which will be learnt from their own parents. Namely you.

having a child is for the parents, not the child. the parents happiness and goals comes first, not the child. its sad that people have forgotten that. the parents end up miserable, and guess who else will end up miserable? you guessed it, the child. wanting to have a child as to not be lonely in life is terrible? most kids are had for no reason at all, and its not terrible either. plus, I am pretty sure for 3 billion…

A single downvote is not enough to express how much I hate this mindset. A thousand words would be probably not enough either.

> having a child is for the parents, not the child.

It's beyond me how you can even write such a statement. Children are not things. They are not property. They are not "for" anything.

Children are human. They are independent individuals. You can't own them, you can't abuse them, you can't ruin their lives just because you once decided to have unprotected sex.

> its sad that people have forgotten that.

That's like saying that it's sad that people forgot how natural and beneficial slavery is. With a mindset like that, I'd say that even a dog would be too big a responsibility. Get a Roomba instead. At least it won't suffer because of you.

> and its not terrible either.

Oh yes, it is. More often than not.

> this is part of the culture

That says literally nothing about how good - in just about any sense of the word - it is. I believe you're a strong supporter of death by stoning too - it's a cultural thing, after all.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#66

Post by nickthemagicman »

krapp wrote: post #5
nickthemagicman wrote: post #2

Capitalism is brutal. People spend time with people who provide the most value to their lives. And some people don't provide much value and they die alone.

That's not capitalism unless the people making emotional investments are doing so strictly for monetary gain, which doesn't appear to be supported by the article.

We're encouraged in capitalism to spend our limited time developing networks and connections with people who can benefit us financially or career wise. A true capitalistic value system considers it a waste of time to pursue relationships with simply interesting people with mostly non-capitalizable quality's like good sense of humor, compassion, storytelling...etc. reply.

The point of the article is that no one is making emotional investments in these people.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#67

Post by nickthemagicman »

bovermyer wrote: post #15
nickthemagicman wrote: post #2

Capitalism is brutal. People spend time with people who provide the most value to their lives. And some people don't provide much value and they die alone.

You read that entire article and this is what you took away? The situation is far more complex than that. Japan is facing a very real crisis, and the causes are not limited to its adoption of capitalism following WWII.

We're encouraged in capitalism to spend our limited time developing networks and connections with people who can benefit us financially or career wise. A true capitalistic value system considers it a waste of time to pursue relationships with simply interesting people with mostly non-capitalizable quality's like good sense of humor, compassion, storytelling...etc. reply.

You get what you value.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#68

Post by ashark »

somberi wrote: post #52

My mother-in-law lives in an active community where old people live. The other day I had gone to visit her and she was playing bridge with a dozen people. I thought to myself "There is a 1000 years of history here in this table". It was a humbling thought.

Bridge is freakin' great. It's recently infected my 25-35 age range circle of friends and now we've almost all caught the bug. It's like some kind of partners chess, but meaner, in card game form. A little like spades if you're familiar with that, but makes spades look like a game for babies. No requirements for multiple or specially prepared decks like some games (hand & foot, pepper) so it's convenient, too.

Which is to say: see if you can join their game :-)

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#69

Post by nickthemagicman »

chesimov wrote: post #51
nickthemagicman wrote: post #2

Capitalism is brutal. People spend time with people who provide the most value to their lives. And some people don't provide much value and they die alone.

Have you ever spoken to somebody who actually lived under a different system? You will not like what they tell you.

I love capitalism. Unregulated capitalism like in America is a dystopic nightmare for many people.

Re: A Generation in Japan Is Facing a Lonely Death

#70

Post by andygcook »

theklub wrote: post #62
andygcook wrote: post #36

Elder loneliness is something I think about a lot. My grandparents on my father’s side are both 94. They’re also both hard of hearing. My grandpa had scarlett fever as a child and went almost deaf. He struggled through school and eventually got hearing aids in his 20’s. A huge improvement for him and every time he recounts that story he revels at the wonders of technology. I like to think my love of tech just runs in…

So this whole comment was an ad? Great marketing.

To be honest, I read the whole article from the parent, which got my thinking about my grandparents because this topic's been on my mind. Then I just started typing and didn't really have a plan of where it'd end up.

We honestly don't really make much money on the whole project because the margins are razor thing. It's not software and there's a physical product that needs to be mailed, which costs a lot. We could jack up the price, but that would make it less affordable for most people.

The real goal is to just do some good in the world and connect more families with their elders. Yes, will admit there's some gross margin, but it doesn't even cover server expenses, needed software, etc. Been funding it on my credit card.

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