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The issue started long before that, it’s not like mental health was great in the 90s.

Loss of third places, TV, necessity to move around for studies then jobs (and moving your kids along if / when you got them), increased cost of living, … are all massive contributing factors.



> Loss of third places

People keep bringing up the loss of third places.

Every time I look into it I come to the conclusion that there are more third places now than there has ever been in the history of humanity.

In the 80s and 90s there were no skate parks, there are now skate parks.

There are more bike and walking trails.

There are more libraries.

There are more community centers.

My local neighborhood is breaking ground on a new fire station in the fall, it will include a community center where in the past it was just a garage and bunk house for firefighters-- but give me any county in the entire country and I'll find a 40 year history of building things for public use. I just looked up the small (28k), impoverished ($45k/house), rural county in Indiana where my now-deceased grandparents lived and according to their charmingly retro county government website over the last 20 or so years they've built trails, parks, playgrounds, a new library, and... a skate park.

People are not lonely because there are fewer third places.

People are lonely because they're not going to the third places.


I see the opposite as someone born and living in San Francisco. Growing up in the city, we had arcades, bowling alleys, mini golf, Lan Party Cafe's, etc.

Then the city got more and more expensive, and businesses couldn't afford the rent / leases in the city anymore.

Affordable recreation isn't available in SF and that leads me to just stay at home as an adult instead of going out and doing something that doesn't involve drinking.




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