The Atomized Society
Photo credit: Pablo Chiabrando at Unsplash
We’re living in a society that intentionally atomizes or separates people from one another. People are meant to relate to others; we’re meant to be social, but the incidence of loneliness and living separately is so prevalent here that it approaches being seen as normal, and it is not. Part of the cause is the Internet. With the rise of the Internet and smartphones, people could and did interact online in a way that mimicked authentic human interaction, but it was as far away from human interaction as our Earth is from Pluto. The other reason is materialism. Things became prominent in people’s lives over interactions with others. Look at the explosion of tech devices for an idea about how far humanity has come away from human interactions. We’re a society governed by looking at screens.
Take a ride on a subway in a major city or walk down a crowded street. Almost all heads are bowed, as if in a religious act of bowing down to the god of technology.
I sat on a bench bordering the green at the community college where I once taught. I was amazed at how universal the number of students were who had their eyes glued to their smartphones as they walked between classes. In class, the incidence of students attempting to use cellphones instead of engaging in class discussions floored me.
I think that the phenomenon of ghosting people is linked to the atomizing of societies. People who once may have continued to communicate with others now treat people as if they’re commodities to be cast aside when the perception is that they’re no longer of use. This serious issue is yet another indication of how far removed from others some have become. Human relationships that work are much harder to maintain than the instant gratification of the screen, idiotic social media apps, and things.
Where all of this is pointing is alarming! I walk through my “neighborhood” almost daily, and I’m amazed at the number of people who live alone and who only seem to emerge from their houses sporadically. A “hello” is sometimes the most that can be expected when encountering many people. That experience is so far removed from the daily human interactions I experienced growing up. All of my neighbors interacted and socialized with one another.
My mother was involved in Democratic Party politics for many years. She was a state co-chair of the McCarthy presidential campaign in 1968. She set up a campaign headquarters in our hometown that was a natural gathering place for local teens. The campaign headquarters was always a Mecca for local youth. I was involved in active campaigning through the 2016 campaign season in a campaign headquarters in New York’s Hudson Valley. Although aging works against many alliances, there was no youth presence at that campaign headquarters.