#and the internet provides a more low stakes environment that could perhaps be paralleled by. say. a town market | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

flintmcgraw · 11 months ago

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i saw a post floating around a bit ago that said something along the lines of "i think everyone needs larger living spaces with room to exist in" and it kind of really irked me as a western-centric view, but i only just put my finger on what i think the issue is.

it all comes back around to third spaces. someone who lives in a village of one room mud huts is not less happy or less fortunate than an American in a townhouse - they get their solace in outdoor/separate from home community spaces. my mother lived a very happy childhood with her whole family in an apartment the size of our current living room - and upon reflection, she credits it with the state-built parks between every complex that she played in and was called from to dinner through an open window.

and there is a draw towards alone-ness for a lot of us, in equating peace to silence and ownership of our own space, but i can't help but wonder if we would be so exhausted by the outside if the outside were more livable, and if we didn't have so much of a need to recover from existing in the society we built

#idk it REALLY bugged me because i felt it was dismissive of all the people in the world (many people!) who live very happily in small spaces #but at the same time i could see where they were coming from #and the train just went past a daunting looking suburb and i had a lightbulb moment #and if you think about it most people come home and then continue to engage in society via social media #so it's not necessarily true that we need to be alone #maybe just that existing socially in the system is more tiring than it needs to be #and the internet provides a more low stakes environment that could perhaps be paralleled by. say. a town market #where you sit with your friends and people watch #but when outside is an onslaught of cars and hostile architecture and spaces that cost money #it's no wonder we isolate ourselves #now. i don't know if there exist a feasible solution for northern climes where the outdoors is only comfortable max 6 months of the year #but we definitely should not be imposing this way of living on the rest of the world #it's lonely #personal #thoughts

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