Please tell me if you identify with this statement.

February 6, 2018 9:40 AM

Do you feel something has shifted, for the worse, in the United States? There is now an pointed isolation between the self and people we meet on a daily basis, a high level of anxiety, and a feeling we no longer have control of our lives. A loss of the sense of possibility, of engaging with people in a way that is open, perhaps sensual. A loss of the sense that if you demonstrated who you are to someone, you would be able to get some energy back.

For context - two straight college educated white guys, 44 and 48, living in the Midwest. Both serious artists/creatives. Trying to avoid the dreaded "So, what do you do?" question.

In the past 5-10 years, we've felt a noted decline in possibility, a disengagement, and a sense of risk aversion and cowardice. A sense that we must apologize for being passionate. A feeling that people have replaced passion with "email me" or "let's connect on Facebook". An outsourcing of connection to social media. A loss of serendipity. A feeling that sensuality has been wiped away.

• Flirting, face to face, seems a lost art
• People are less inclined to make or accept impromptu invitations - "Why don't you drop by the studio tomorrow" or "I'd love to see your work in progress."
• An unwillingness to commit to a date and time, to show up
• People seem less interested in cultivating new friendships

Before folks pile on, this is not a "why won't the 20-year-old barista with the eyebrow ring and tattoos flirt with me?" complaint. It's about how people relate overall.

If you identify with these concerns, please tell me - what happened? I have my theories, but I want to hear yours.

posted by falcon42 to Human Relations