Now, no matter what circle it is, it's all so torn apart. I've been thinking about this for a long time, but it has always been a draft. Let's just publish it today. However, I feel like I still can't handle this theme.
Mainly some scattered thoughts
Looking Around, No One is Here#
How should I put it? Now basically no one can talk to me about anime, and my colleagues at work hardly watch animation. Even if we can talk about anime, it's hard to discuss the same series, and even if we can talk about the same series, it's difficult to have the same opinions. I remember in high school, when I was queuing for lunch with my classmates, we were still discussing the "world line changes" in Steins;Gate, seriously debating how our current actions would change the world line in the cafeteria. My motto was something like "the gears of fate turn in unknown places" (I only learned what 'chuunibyou' meant after college). High school was my happiest time, not for anything else, but for those few friends who listened to me ramble every day. Right, xxx assistant, you still have the organization’s special notebook I gave you, right?
When I was following a series, I really enjoyed guessing the plot twists. In high school, when everyone was guessing who the One-Eyed King was in Tokyo Ghoul, it was really a different answer every week. I didn't have a mobile phone in high school, so to read the manga that updated on Sunday nights, we would pass around a wealthy classmate's phone in the dorm late at night to watch it. And now, without friends to talk to, I gradually find it harder to delve into works; it's already rare to sort out the timeline of a work, and I might even finish watching and think, "What was that character's name?" After all, if I don't discuss it with others after watching, it's really hard to have any deep impressions.
Lack of Shared Imagination#
I seem to have figured it out; the biggest difference between this era and the last is actually television. Although I don't have a paper to support this, I feel that it largely stems from a lack of this shared imagination, which has greatly widened the distance between people. Especially in big cities, where everyone comes from various backgrounds and regions. They almost have no similar pasts, and their interests vary widely. An atomized society, workers in big cities like isolated islands; this isn't quite right, as even in smaller cities, there can be such situations. The fundamental problem is that "it's hard for outsiders to achieve their identity recognition in a foreign place." The characters in NANA are actually like this too.
It has been like this since college; I was quite surprised by the "Starry Sky TV" that everyone was talking about, as I had never heard of it. From that moment on, I gradually understood that "we have different pasts." Moreover, to some extent, after a certain age, it becomes a bit difficult to accept others' interests and hobbies; there's always a sense of NTR (netorare). This makes it even harder to follow the interests of colleagues around you or to get them to follow your interests.
Ethereal Community - Perhaps the Solution is to Meet in Person?#
But is it really like this? It can actually be viewed from another angle. In this era, even the smallest circles can have a certain number of people. It's just that those people might be in the online space, making it seem so ethereal. How to acknowledge and embrace the ephemeral interpersonal relationships in the cyber world? If we consider text as one-dimensional, it's really hard for one-dimensional people to become profound. Many times, you really might never meet that person you once communicated with online again in your life.
Digital immigrants experience the same loneliness.
That's why there are so many meetups; meetups are truly meaningful, allowing the image of like-minded friends to be built on multi-dimensional factors.
Like my mom having a group of friends who dance in the square, how happy they must be every day. (I no longer have to seek comfort in another world every day like I do now.)
Preface#
This is a segment I wrote over a year ago
I really enjoy the feeling of "sharing the stories I've seen with others." Especially when the interests and hobbies of those around me are quite different from mine, this feeling is even stronger. People with similar interests to you are always hard to come by. Especially after entering college, everyone's interests and hobbies have basically solidified, making it really difficult to recommend works to others. How should I put it? It seems like everyone's time is never enough; everyone is busy and exhausted pursuing their own directions, and they are either filled with their own interests, leaving no time to communicate with others, or "afraid of being hurt and distancing themselves from others." It feels like there are islands between people.
Those who are good at listening to others' viewpoints and can watch "the works recommended by others" are wonderful people; they have a great quality, as they don't only see themselves. They are really easy to like.
I, on the other hand, am the opposite; I always easily want to forcefully change others, especially those who are slightly weaker than me. I never listen to others' opinions, I won't watch the works recommended by others, and I won't like what others like. That's how I feel. Of course, I might still watch something before others recommend it, and I might also come to like something before others do; I am the kind of person who is "always filled with my own interests." I often fear being looked down upon by others, but in reality, I am the one who looks down on others the most; it's too selfish. Just like in elementary school, I often invited many classmates to my house to watch me play on the computer; when I was doing something, I would throw others out of my mind. "Being different from others" might be the reason I like niche things like ACG.
Reference Link#
- The previous example of the chestnut (the link below) really describes well "when the niche things you like are no longer niche" and "when the things you love are no longer the way you loved them," which is a very complex psychology.
Why do many people who love ACG culture not admit they like the second dimension? - Zhihu