Social connection vs "anomie"

[Magical Realist]

I experienced depressing "anomie" when I was in the Navy. I'd get to be friends with lots of people, but within 1-3 years we'd all be transferred to another duty station. Never any chance for a long and meaningful relationship. Sure we'd SAY we'd stay in touch, but nobody ever did. It's part of why I left that lifestyle. I needed stability and roots. So now I maintain longterm relationships on a laptop with people I rarely even meet much less ever see! It seems we all crave stable connection but not without certain caveats.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2883634038644067

[Syne]

Too bad there's nothing out in the real world that could help you find purpose and real connection. 9_9

[C C]

Durkheim warns that if we don't take our hobbies, our clubs, our societies, or groups seriously, then we'll forever be lost in anomie.

Churches and sports are about the only "club houses" available for rural areas. The various lodges, societies, and guilds still lingering modestly into the 20th-century seem to have faded in quantity as the devouring creep of the telephone, radio, television, etc continued. Ergo, the contemporary persistence of religion and recreational athletic or outdoor skills in flyover country. I guess "senior centers" also do their thing, but they would seem rather redundant in function except when they're dominated by nones.

[Magical Realist]

Too bad there's nothing out in the real world that could help you find purpose and real connection. 9_9

I'm content with this strange technologically-enabled mode of "being alone" yet "being with others."

[Syne]

Of course you are.