41–50 of 432 posts
This data makes me sad just looking at the parents, children, and coworker lines. This isn't how it should be...
>This isn't how it should be... What makes you say that?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Western nuclear family is a very unnatural social arrangement. Anthropologists have found that in most hunter-gatherers, the average infant is held at one point or another by 30+ people in a typical day. The nuclear family has the twin downsides of putting tons of stress on parents of young kids, who shoulder the entire childcare burden, and deprives a lot of grandparents, aunts, cousins, and others of meaningful…
I'm not defending the nuclear family, but I don't think our primitive past says anything about what's "optimal". For example, human life expectancy is much longer now. I'd much rather be a modern person with modern technology and medicine than a hunter-gatherer. Evolution != good. It's just history, and history is often ugly.
In general, modern advances have maybe added 10+ years to an average adult lifespan. The quality of the added lifespan is harder to assess though.
I don't even want kids. I don't know why the 'time spent with one's children' line hurts so much, but it does. It sharply rises, before plummeting at age 40. That's got to be a jarring transition. No wonder so many folks have trouble with the 'empty nest' and mid-life crisis.
I do obsess on how to make that slope more gradual (i.e. offer higher utility to my adult off-spring) without impeding their growth and maturation.
Older folks definitely get a second wind when they are once again in need to help care for the grandchildren. But when these grandchildren get older, the grand parents are needed less and/or are less interesting to tweens. Another empty nest situation to navigation, ahem.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Western nuclear family is a very unnatural social arrangement. Anthropologists have found that in most hunter-gatherers, the average infant is held at one point or another by 30+ people in a typical day. The nuclear family has the twin downsides of putting tons of stress on parents of young kids, who shoulder the entire childcare burden, and deprives a lot of grandparents, aunts, cousins, and others of meaningful…
I'm not defending the nuclear family, but I don't think our primitive past says anything about what's "optimal". For example, human life expectancy is much longer now. I'd much rather be a modern person with modern technology and medicine than a hunter-gatherer. Evolution != good. It's just history, and history is often ugly.
The thing that seems crazy to me is how much time alone increases with age. There are many many reasons for it, but one thing I think is especially sad is how much this is a consequence of our built environment. If you live in a village with multiple generations of a family around, it’s much easier for grandparents to be involved day too day in helping with little things in the village, especially keeping an eye on t…
The thing that seems crazy to me is how much time alone increases with age. There are many many reasons for it, but one thing I think is especially sad is how much this is a consequence of our built environment. If you live in a village with multiple generations of a family around, it’s much easier for grandparents to be involved day too day in helping with little things in the village, especially keeping an eye on t…
As the younger people alive today get older, they are more likely to remain connected with technology and spend more time socially with digital experiences (playing video games with friends, etc.). Hopefully, this will help offset loneliness that might accompany decreased mobility.
A lot of people in the comments are talking about children, but coworkers seem pretty crucial according to the charts.
The thing that seems crazy to me is how much time alone increases with age. There are many many reasons for it, but one thing I think is especially sad is how much this is a consequence of our built environment. If you live in a village with multiple generations of a family around, it’s much easier for grandparents to be involved day too day in helping with little things in the village, especially keeping an eye on t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Somewhat ironically, I think the important thing here is to learn to be more comfortable spending time alone. The pandemic has surprised me with both how much people are unable to just be alone for awhile, and related to this, how much they have a difficult time being with partners and family without larger social distractions. Being able to be alone, at least in my experience, helps you to be with other people in a…
I don't know if this is the sort of thing most people can use mental jiu jitsu to dodge out of. Social connection is a drive most might not be able to satisfy without actual social connection.
And to make it clear, my point isn't "be more alone" but rather than "being comfortable being alone helps us maintain social connections better".
This data makes me sad just looking at the parents, children, and coworker lines. This isn't how it should be...
Parents and children are a generation away, there are flights over cultural differences that drive wedges. I'm glad I only see my Fox News repeating parents once a week.
However my co-workers are my peers who I can bounce ideas off.
This isn't new or Western either. Japan has a phrase "Foolish father" that both means what it sounds like, but also respect that everyone has a father. A more general term "filial piety".