A spectator society
Mar. 14th, 2025 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asakiyumeA friend and I were talking asynchronously the other day**, and she put forward this interesting idea:
What do people think? More than an agree or disagree, what questions does the question raise for you, or what roads does it take your thoughts down?
For me, it got me thinking about the difference between something being effortful and something being miserable. Building something strong takes effort, and effort, by definition, involves work, which isn't always fun. But that's by no means the same as misery. You can rightly want to avoid misery, but I think you're likely to be disappointed in life if you try to avoid effort. ---But that's just one tangent. What does the question raise for you?
**"talking asynchronously" is my new way of saying "exchanging letters."
A thought: we've become a spectator society, where people often watch sports or plays rather than participating themselves. Are we also becoming a society where many people watch social relationships (on TV, the internet, etc.) rather than participating?
What do people think? More than an agree or disagree, what questions does the question raise for you, or what roads does it take your thoughts down?
For me, it got me thinking about the difference between something being effortful and something being miserable. Building something strong takes effort, and effort, by definition, involves work, which isn't always fun. But that's by no means the same as misery. You can rightly want to avoid misery, but I think you're likely to be disappointed in life if you try to avoid effort. ---But that's just one tangent. What does the question raise for you?
**"talking asynchronously" is my new way of saying "exchanging letters."
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Date: 2025-03-14 06:45 pm (UTC)I do like that it's more acceptable for boys to do things like dancing now, and for girls to do things like skateboarding.
Yeah, the pandemic has been a crushing game-changer, that's for sure. It's going to keep reverberating for a long, long time. You mentioned not being able to cook with your friend, and later you mentioned being wary of an in-person art class, though you could do it masked, and it gave me the impression that cooking with your friend was more of a no-go than the art class. Is that a right impression? And if so, is it because the friend wouldn't be willing to mask?
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Date: 2025-03-14 08:13 pm (UTC)Fortunately, we live in Zoom times, and we're able to maintain our friendship online and in print, along with very occasional outdoor meetings. I would be in much worse shape, emotionally, without the ability to connect with people online.
Thanks for making this post! Besides finding it interesting to write about, I'm enjoying the very different takes in the comment threads. 🙂
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Date: 2025-03-14 08:21 pm (UTC)And agreed! People have been saying lots of interesting things!