#christineemba
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Hooray, this is really insightful. Gift link, including audio:
No one's offering men a model except the right. It's…
wapo.stFirst it was #LouisePerry's [case against the sexual revolution](https://www.louisemperry.co.uk/).
Then came #MaryHarrington's [reactionary feminism](https://swiftpress.com/book/feminism-against-progress/).
TIL about #ChristineEmba [rethinking sex](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622579/rethinking-sex-by-christine-emba/).
What's going on?
“We Are Spending Scary Amounts of Time Alone”
By #ChristineEmba
WaPo Opinion columnist and editor (so US centric but struck a chord with me in the U.K. too as I’ve no close family left and since the split from my ex I’ve felt terribly alone, something the pandemic magnified!)
The leftovers are in the refrigerator, the turkey whittled down to the bone. Take a breather while you can: Now that #Thanksgiving is past and the holidays are officially upon us, we’ll soon be subsumed into the crush of parties, dinners and social events.
Or … not?
According to economist #BryceWard, our #sociallives are withering.
“The average American spent 15 hours per week with [friends] a decade ago, 12 hours per week in 2019, and only 10 hours a week in 2021. On average, Americans did not transfer that lost time to spouses, partners or children. Instead, they chose to be alone.”
No single group is driving this shift: men and women, old and young, rich and poor of all races and professions have shown proportional declines in time spent with others.
“These new habits are startling,” Ward writes, “and a striking departure from the past. Just a decade ago, the average American spent roughly the same amount of time with friends as Americans in the 1960s or 1970s. But we have now begun to cast off our connections to each other.”
Can we build them back? It’s possible. The pandemic is to blame for some of our solitude, and the 2022 festive season may be the first one in years not haunted by the threat of deadly disease. (Although I should note: Covid-19 hasn’t disappeared, folks. Stay safe!) We should take advantage, Ward suggests.
“Go to that holiday party (or throw one yourself). Go hang out with friends for coffee, or a hike, or in a museum, or a concert — whatever. You will feel better, create memories, boost your health, stumble across valuable information — and so will your companions.”
And an added benefit? “You just might have a good time.”