Knowing the Neighbors
Posted March 14th, 2009 @ 01:27pm by Erik J. Barzeski
When I was a kid, it seemed as though my family knew just about everyone that lived around us - our neighbors. They talked to most of them.
Today, I don't know many of the neighbors around me nearly as well. It may be a symptom of many things - more time spent together as a family, or more time spent away from the home in general, or simply less time spent in the yard when we are home. Increased concerns about privacy, longer work weeks, more emphasis on children not having to entertain themselves…
Is your perception the same? Do we know our neighbors less now than 20 years ago? If so, why?
Donate Life
Posted 18 Mar 2009 at 3:10pm #
My perception is definitely the same-- as I was growing up int he 80's, there were no fences in the back yards. You could pretty much run through the (suburban) neighborhood without going near the street. I remember one of our neighbors had a fence, but only in part of their yard.
I think as people got less open, they also built more fences-- last time I was in this neighborhood, everyone had built fences around all of their yards...
Posted 19 Mar 2009 at 3:15am #
Good question Erik. I have a similar perception of our society. A few more ideas: Playstations, XBoxes and plenty of things to keep us inside. A fear of what might happen to our kids keeps us from turning them loose like generations before us. Television and the proliferation of the 5 o' clock scare news. We seem to be living in an increasingly individualistic society which has lost its collective identity. just a few thoughts.
Posted 28 Mar 2009 at 7:03pm #
We know 1 of our neighbors, the rest are a mystery, although you just live a block away as well - does that count as 2?