Sometimes

I wonder where we as a society are going. No wonder different generations have a hard time of grasping life as it is in comparison to life as it was a generation or two ago. The kitchen has always been the hub of the household and most social gatherings centered around food made in that kitchen. Families gathered around the table to break bread together and share their daily comings-and-goings. Friends dropped by for coffee and cake; and there was always something homemade to share. Apparently not so in this day and age. According to a recent news report, citing Toronto as the city where this is becoming more common, stoves in the kitchen are no longer a necessity. The thinking behind this is the fact that apartments and other dwellings have very small living space, so the first thing thought to go is the kitchen stove.

As it seems, the report noted that people are living a very busy lifestyle nowadays and there is no longer time in one’s day to prepare anything to eat. Food prepared in stores, the deli, ordered through skip-the-dishes or wherever has taken the place of food prepared at home, to be just warmed up when needed.

There is also the fact that greater populations in many countries demand smaller living spaces, basically only enough room to accommodate a little more than sleeping quarters. Society lives, eats and socializes on the streets and individuals only go home to sleep. We witnessed this in Hong Kong a few years ago, and I think that large cities like New York and Toronto are dealing with the same issues, as well. I guess the space where the stove once was, will now make room for an occasional chair to throw clothes on at the end of the day, rather than piling them up on the stove.

And now that the stove is gone, will there be any need for a fridge?

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And another item causing some questions as to where we as a society are going…

In this age of social media where individuals are constantly using social networks to interact, the findings are that these same individuals are experiencing greater isolation, loneliness and depression.

According to a study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, it concludes there is a causal link between the use of social media and negative effects on well-being, primarily depression and loneliness.

Even with an established causal link, there still remains a larger, unanswered question as to why this happens, and how could social networks be unhealthy for our mental health through networks designed to bring individuals closer together?

One theory points to the fact that because people are generally dealing with very curated content, there is more social comparison. And because there are many social platforms to use and people are continually on them for FOMO (fear-of-missing-out), this generates more comparisons leading to depression.

According to the data, *“the bottom line says that social media use can harm your mental health, especially when it’s used more frequently.”

* https://www.healthline.com/health- news/social- media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness