Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan • Hacker News Board

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#181

Post by 7952 » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:04 PM UTC

fsckboy wrote: post #37

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #21

Every time I read an article about people trying to solve the 'loneliness epidemic' I can't help but wonder if we're not trying to solve the wrong problem. Maybe the solution should not be sought in trying to increase social connections but in eliminating our need for social contact. This dependence on other humans has always felt like a flaw to me. Note that I'm not saying that human contact is bad, just that our pa…

> Every time I read an article about people trying to solve the 'loneliness epidemic... you're reading the title wrong, they aren't "trying to solve the loneliness epidemic," they are trying to sell yogurt at a profit. In so doing, their sales force is ameliorating some of the loneliness their clients feel as a side effect. You could say that they are monetizing loneliness if that's the reason people are buying their…

And building genuine resiprocity beyond money can be good for business and absolutely essential for sole traders.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#182

Post by xyzzy9563 » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:20 PM UTC

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #21

Every time I read an article about people trying to solve the 'loneliness epidemic' I can't help but wonder if we're not trying to solve the wrong problem. Maybe the solution should not be sought in trying to increase social connections but in eliminating our need for social contact. This dependence on other humans has always felt like a flaw to me. Note that I'm not saying that human contact is bad, just that our pa…

I'm guessing you haven't considered evolutionary psychology? If we didn't yearn for other people, there would be a lot less reproduction, and the human species would die.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#183

Post by sincarne » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:30 PM UTC

zabzonk wrote: post #90

no_time wrote: post #78

How neat. I'd buy some Actimel too if a sharply dressed lady would show up at my door instead of a suicidal looking grocery delivery guy who carves the local word for "tip" in the elevator every time he doesn't get any.

Well, I'd go for a sharply dressed lady too, but ... what I get is very cheerful Tesco drivers in hiviz, who unpack my groceries and stash the chilled stuff in my fridge. It's a great (UK) service, and they quite often ask if they can do anything else for me (I'm bed-bound) like make a cup of tea. Cannot recommend them highly enough.

I hadn’t thought about it before, but you’re right: the grocery delivery folks in the UK were always quite cheerful! We used Ocado mostly, and their drivers were always happy for a chat while unloading.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#184

Post by tdeck » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:56 PM UTC

hto209423432 wrote: post #176

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #21

Every time I read an article about people trying to solve the 'loneliness epidemic' I can't help but wonder if we're not trying to solve the wrong problem. Maybe the solution should not be sought in trying to increase social connections but in eliminating our need for social contact. This dependence on other humans has always felt like a flaw to me. Note that I'm not saying that human contact is bad, just that our pa…

Thanks for the comment. This sadly is the default zeitgeist within Liberalism as a political philosophy - which is why elites across the world treat humans as cannon fodder. They'd sell them a "dream" and destroy them and communities they're part of in order to create cheap labourers and needy consumers.Once that has passed, they'll throw them under the bus. Once our overlords get AI/Robots to work for them, we'll qu…

For folks who don't know, Duginism is just Russian-supremacist fascism.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#185

Post by llm_nerd » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:58 PM UTC

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wrote: post #71

lysace wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low salaries/wages. Decades of deflation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decades

I'm so glad I visit different countries to see what they are actually like so I don't get brainwashed into thinking GDP is anywhere near of good measure as people think it is.

Here in Canada we constantly get lambasted because we're "poorer than Alabama!", at least if measured in GDP per capita in USD.

Yeah, I've been to Alabama. The absolute poorest areas of Canada are better than basically 100% of Alabama.

GDP is a myth, especially for largely illusory economies like the US where it's all a shell game of fake money, debt spending and the plutocrats that control almost all of the wealth.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#186

Post by tdeck » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 12:59 PM UTC

GarnetFloride wrote: post #150

If I remember right in many of the outlying areas of England the post people would serve the same purpose, though recently there have been cutbacks so they can't spend time. I also saw an estimate that people are giving $7 Trillion in unpaid caregiving services to family and friends. I'm sure the capitalists would love to be able to tap into that, but they have always been anti-civilization that way.

We can pay one another to look after each other's parents. Watch GDP, taxable income, and payment processor fee revenue rise!

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#187

Post by tdeck » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC

petterroea wrote: post #97

fidicen wrote: post #96

With the automation of some customer service labor in japan, maybe this shows people value at least a bit of customer service interaction as a customer

I think most feedback I've seen regarding automation of customer service labour has been along the lines of "no! Get it away from me! I want to speak to the human!". With approximately that level of frustration. I thought it was well established that interacting with an actual human was generally preferred to whatever we have to use now. The automation exists to save money on labour, not to make our lives more conven…

I think what the parent means is things like iPad ordering and self-service registers, which seem to be much more common in Japan than they even are in the US.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#188

Post by baxtr » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 1:04 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #144

hamasho wrote: post #136

I grew up on a small village in a small island. The yogurt lady was an essential part of the community. Many stay-at-home moms (including my mom) seemed to enjoy her visit. She and my mom talked a lot, sometimes for hours (I still can't figure out how she completed her job when she spent so much time with one person). They chatted about recent events, like the daughter of the fisherman gave birth, the great-grandpa o…

This is one for https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights (I mention this so more people can know the list exists, and hopefully email us more nominations)

Thanks! Didn’t know this existed.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#189

Post by throwaway2037 » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC

Imustaskforhelp wrote: post #177

petterroea wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- Nice things are within walkable distance living in a major city. In Norway we live mostly in suburbs. Living in the city is unaffordable. Zoning matters. Being able to just walk out of my apartment and do things spontaneously in my own area is a life changer. I can't describe how much the change in mindset from "I'll do a half day trip into town" to "I'll pop two train stops over" did for me - private individuals c…

That is a genuinely fascinating take because we all hear about how japan is having a population crisis (which it definitely is), and I had always considered Countries like Norway etc. to be one of the top spots if I ever wish to immigrate. (Also this comment is really detailed and genuinely interesting to read!) I have heard that Japan has a very negative connotation of foreigners (even more so than current form of A…

    > I have heard that Japan has a very negative connotation of foreigners

To be clear, Japan is much larger than most people realise -- slightly larger than Germany. In 2026, if you work in tech or finance, you are 99% likely to work in Tokyo. (I don't write that to look down upon any other places in Japan where foreigners live and work!) In the central area of Tokyo (roughly the Yamanote loop train line and about 1-2 km outside it), you won't find any issue being a visible foreigner. They are just too many shops and hotels that now employ overseas workers. IMHO, the OP (@petterroea) is talking about a very specific way of life in central Tokyo. Most of his valid points would not apply if you live in a suburban town in a northern prefecture. I have said this many times on HN before: "In all rich (non-micro-state) countries, outside of big cities, they are all driving nations."

All of the reactionary screed that you are seeing on YouTube or reading from low quality news sources about negative reactions to foreigners can be generally ignored. It is not the reality on the ground. Yes, there will be isolated incidents by assholes, but they are far, far less than 1% of common interactions. Also, if you speak even a tiny amount of Japanese (100+ words) and make an effort to speak Japanese and be polite, they will immediately see that you are not some annoying tourist and treat you better.

    > I am able to see some similarities with Japan within my own country as well, namely the idea of everything being close. I can't speak about food but being vegetarian, and my country primarily being so too. I actually love our own cultural cuisine.

Can you share your home country/culture? I am curious.

Re: Yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan

#190

Post by throwaway2037 » Sun, Mar 08, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC

petterroea wrote: post #123

computably wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's really surprising, I was under the impression that Scandinavian QOL was also quite high. What are the major contributing factors to the 2x QOL?

- Nice things are within walkable distance living in a major city. In Norway we live mostly in suburbs. Living in the city is unaffordable. Zoning matters. Being able to just walk out of my apartment and do things spontaneously in my own area is a life changer. I can't describe how much the change in mindset from "I'll do a half day trip into town" to "I'll pop two train stops over" did for me - private individuals c…

    > less enshittification

Years ago, I had a friend tell me: "You cannot buy a lemon (shitty used car) in Japan." That was the phrase he used to describe Japanese culture to outsiders/visitors. I still think there is a lot of truth in it.

Unfortunately, in many countries, buying a used car is a gamble. Not in Japan because people are more honest, and it is a high trust society. It is hard to explain the magic of Japanese culture to people who have not experienced it first hand, but it is life changing for many.