Loneliness, as bad as smoking 3/4ths pack a day...

[Seeker]

Of course, economics and technology aren't inherently evil.....it's just the way they're being used and abused that does the damage.....

Agreed. I don't think any of the technology we have to day has anything inherently evil at all. It only becomes so when it's applied for nefarious and destructive purposes. And the world will always have economies(although this globalized economy monster simply cannot last forever.)

I'd like to think that one day the world will consciously and voluntarily develop and apply technologies and economies that benefit humankind instead of harm it, but maybe I'm just dreaming...

[azaleafrost]

I agree with you folks - the idea of government telling me to go out and make friends is pretty darned creepy.

Besides, what about people who are naturally inclined to be less social or even asocial for that matter? Would a lack of close friendships impact their health negatively? I think that if I personally was obligated to maintain a bunch of social connections, that'd leave little time for me to wind down, and my stress level would skyrocket.

Somebody also opined that technology-based socializing (Facebook, texting, etc.) was artificial compared to in-person friendships and such. Well, that's not the first time I've read that opinion, and I disagree with it, namely because face-to-face interaction is problematic for some people in a number of ways and online communication simply works better for them. I'm thinking about starting my own thread for that topic, though.

[Seeker]

Besides, what about people who are naturally inclined to be less social or even asocial for that matter? Would a lack of close friendships impact their health negatively? I think that if I personally was obligated to maintain a bunch of social connections, that'd leave little time for me to wind down, and my stress level would skyrocket.

Well, if the government(s) did force it, then yes, this would be a problem.

But what if the government merely created opportunities? Then there are still a lot of people with, say, social anxieties, who won't/can't get out of the house. In other words, merely lacking an opportunity is not their problem. So I doubt something like this would work unless government could enforce it, which I doubt is even possible, let alone the public outcry totalitarian socialization would create...

Somebody also opined that technology-based socializing (Facebook, texting, etc.) was artificial compared to in-person friendships and such. Well, that's not the first time I've read that opinion, and I disagree with it, namely because face-to-face interaction is problematic for some people in a number of ways and online communication simply works better for them.

Well, I admit I'm a bit torn over the idea. On the one hand, I see how nothing can replace real life friendships. On the other hand, I've had online friendships and relationships, so I see how it can be good too. I think the idea is to have a happy medium - best case, ample real life relationships with online relationships as a supplement, so to speak.

I'm thinking about starting my own thread for that topic, though.

You should! You've got at least one person who would discuss it!

[Phytophilia]

Originally Posted by zuka

I can't think of anything more depressing than deserted city centres, degenerated into mere business districts, with a couple of joints a la starbucks/taco bell with no social life whatsoever and then compensate this with an even more depressing weekly expedition to a mall to buy humps of stuff you don't need.

Agreed.
There are a lot of benefits to encouraging the kind of city/town planning that is now being described by terms like "walkable," "livable," and/or "sustainable." Potential social benefits are sort-of a by-product, but I think they're also important to consider. There are government initiatives to do more of this, with grants available to local communities that want to make some of these changes.

Originally Posted by saintali

TIn all the places where economic growth is a lesser concern, there is a definite richer sense of community.

From what I have seen, it's not that economic growth is less of a concern in these places, just not the only concern, which tends to promote easy but short-sighted short-term gains at the expense of long-term sustainability.
BTW, the kinds of things our city has done to encourage new activity and interaction downtown have been helping the economy, too. There are more new businesses, and more businesses doing "more business" with the increased activity.
Now if they could just get the lights synchronized, so that it's not such a PIA to get there.

Originally Posted by Seeker

I'd like to think that one day the world will consciously and voluntarily develop and apply technologies and economies that benefit humankind instead of harm it, but maybe I'm just dreaming...

It's possible, and there are those who are trying to make it happen. It's just slow, and there's a lot of problematic or outdated stuff to un-do or update.
There is definitely a growing awareness of these things, and various ideas out there to address various aspects.

Originally Posted by azaleafrost

Besides, what about people who are naturally inclined to be less social or even asocial for that matter? Would a lack of close friendships impact their health negatively?

Good question.
Just a guess, but I imagine that having a few close friendships might be just as good for people who need more time alone as having a larger circle of friends is for others.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by taxcut

And I would love to know how these people arrived at that metric. Frantic searching for a nice soundbite for the news?

There really isn't much meat to this article. Refers to a study stating that close friendships provide a health boost. Several other scary comparisons are drawn. No link to actual study. The more I think about it the more I think it's rather crappy reporting - long on soundbites, short on data - loneliness twice as damaging as obesity for one thing but by what standards? do friends reduce cholesterol?

Anyways, here's a link.

And here's a funny part:

Personally I've found social lives are far more dangerous to your health. All that drinking and eating out...very unhealthy

[Incelt]

It reflects evolution getting its wires crossed. On the one hand, it wants us to feel bad if we are lonely, in order to force us to try harder to find a mate. On the other hand, it pairs unhealthy genes with physical unattractiveness, in order to prevent the former being passed on to the next generation (for straight people at least). The wires become even more crossed when you add unattractive gay people into the equation because we can't reproduce within gay relationships (without a third party being involved) so evolution doesn't need to make us unattractive to stop us passing on our genes - but does so anyway (such is my conundrum). This sort of thing really destroyed whatever religious faith I had when I ewas younger because if there is a God, he/she/it has contrived this situation. I have never smoked but if these findings are correct, that probably won't do my health any good. I have Asperger Syndrome so if I was straight, that might be nature's way of removing it from the gene-pool. But I am not straight, so I don't understand what evolution is trying to acheive here....