Anomie
The modern world faces a very real problem. Few people feel connected to their workplace or to their work itself, nor do they feel any closeness or sympathy toward today’s politicians, and the only times we interact with someone close to us—beyond our immediate family—end up being for just a few hours, usually on the weekend.
A sense of loneliness eventually sets in one way or another. We feel a bit adrift.
We end up experiencing a sensation that Émile Durkheim previously termed “anomie.”
Anomie conveys the feeling that we don’t fit in, or that we don’t belong. It essentially exists when we are surrounded by other people, yet we end up feeling no special connection to them.
And in the modern world, this suffering exists in two ways. The first is that each of us is, in a way, forced to be close to others. We go shopping, take public transportation, go to the movies, attend meetings at work... But in these almost “mandatory” or unavoidable situations, we end up failing to build connections or relationships with others.
The modern world faces a very real problem. Few people feel connected to their workplace or to their work itself, nor do they feel any closeness or sympathy toward today’s politicians, and the only times we interact with someone close to us—beyond our immediate family—end up being for just a few hours, usually on the weekend.
A sense of loneliness eventually sets in one way or another. We feel a bit adrift.
We end up experiencing a sensation that Émile Durkheim previously termed “anomie.”
Anomie conveys the feeling that we don’t fit in, or that we don’t belong. It essentially exists when we are surrounded by other people, yet we end up feeling no special connection to them.
And in the modern world, this suffering exists in two ways. The first is that each of us is, in a way, forced to be close to others. We go shopping, take public transportation, go to the movies, attend meetings at work... But in these almost “mandatory” or unavoidable situations, we end up failing to build connections or relationships with others.
If we fail to take our hobbies, activities, clubs, and organizations seriously, we end up losing ourselves in a sense of “anomie”—of drifting aimlessly, of feeling sad.
If we want to feel better about ourselves, we have to spend more time with other people, but with a common goal or purpose that goes beyond who we simply are.
We have to go beyond our own needs or desires. We have to step outside our comfort zone and look for something in others that is certainly worth discovering. Only in this way will we be able to establish a true connection—not one that is “selfless” or “obligatory” simply because we are physically sharing the same space or proximity. But we end up coming together in search of something to work on together, where comradeship eventually emerges.
Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay
Original text written by @xrayman in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)
A few paragraphs in the beginning are repeated later down in the post.
Great topic, by the way. Are you familiar with the Rotary International movement and the network of Rotary Clubs around the world? I was active with Rotary in Sweden in the past and I'm currently active in the Rotary Club in the city where I live. It's a great way to connect to people of other professions, generations, walks of life, even different national backgrounds. I'll be happy to tell you more, when we meet next time.