The Loneliness of Humankind | Part 3

3. Capitalism and loneliness

Modern individualism is, to a certain extent, a byproduct of capitalism.

Moving away from parents, out into one's apartment, and financial independence have piece by piece become a desirous goal that every 18-year-old craves so badly. It's been the milestone of maturity, and we at-all-costs thirst for, even when this might run us into nerve-racking and painful situations. After a few months of enjoying this solitude, we might either cherish or loathe it. Still, there's a point we come to realize that there's no way back.

Given the traditional family model, which got multiple generations to live in an ordinary house/building/vicinity, the modern nuclear family model instead has since acted as a precursor to leveraging real estate - what every capitalist dotes on.

"Purchasing the privacy" is pretty much over one's head since, on the one hand, our lifelong saving might even fall short for an apartment's price; and on the other hand, we MUST splurge on past times to stave off the lonely feeling.

Bizarrely enough, we've all too often witnessed those never settling their housing debts until their 60s.

Living by our own itself is forlornness. Still, getting ourselves always tied up to "protect" this personal privacy must be grievously painful. Modern people are exposed continuously to strangers - the trigger of the aforementioned "fight or flight" mechanism.

It's not to mention a series of stress that we could hardly ever spell out.

We're all too often dogged with emptiness. That is loneliness.

4. Why being born a Vietnamese is a godsend (forasmuch as why things are changing)?

The pressures mentioned above are rather evident in Western societies, wherein capitalism and individualism are tucked away in pretty much every aspect of life.

Forasmuch as we Vietnamese still receive supports from family, friends, and relatives in, to name a few, marriage, housing, or even employment. Bank loans are as well an acceptable option after relationships.

Adversely, however, things are getting, in small doses, exacerbated. The Millennials (late 8x, early 9x) and Z Gen have recently seemed to lean towards the moving out and financial independence trend. Given that, many still are negligent to the fact that that their middle-ages will sooner or later get more miserable than their parents' - in a like manner as the American Baby Boomers generation in the 80s.

They, for the most part, have only dimly felt loneliness, and their perceptions have only allowed them to cackle into a laugh upon hearing "LoNeLiNeSs".

Bear in mind that loneliness is pretty much like chalk and cheese with solitude and introvert. Isolation is when we enjoy such a feeling, such precious time away from broken social relationships.

If isolation is a handsome feeling while sitting by the window in a lovely small Da Lat house to read books and drink tea voraciously, loneliness is instead the feeling of desolation after working hours or a midnight game :< (Injoker a.k.a mid).

Solitude is an option; loneliness is the situation we have no choice but to endure.

"Loneliness is enough a painful experience to coerce us to do everything to avoid it", wrote Frieda Fromm-Reichmann in his essay. This is not just a mental experience since science has evidenced and associated it with a shortened life expectancy, cardiovascular diseases, and other serious physical problems.

Westerners have taken this seriously, and at a macro level. Their health community has even a set of standards for the Lonely Scale; the former US General Physician did declare a "loneliness pandemic"; insomuch as the UK has so far got a Lonely Minister. The media have since been contemplative about loneliness. Studies have as well examined its impacts on personal health and the status quo.