Something about not having skype got me thinking about people who are suffering from loneliness. How can anyone be lonely in a city this massive? We have our friends on speed dial, we have social networks like facebook, twitter and much much more. And when we loose a few friends to distance, disagreements or a busy schedule there are millions of people out there waiting for our friendship. Ive spent four years in Tokyo but before that I never got the chance to feel lonely. That's one of the best things about having very entertaining/loud siblings then as part of the culture, offering a smile to a stranger is normal. If you caught eye contact, what do you do? smile. Of course you cant do it here, people will think you are a perv or insane instead of being kind and sweet.
In a city this huge theres a lot of trust issues going on and people want to protect their privacy what they don't realise is that they are actually isolating themselves. I always complain about the small town life that Ive experienced for all my teenage life. Nothing remains a secret, you hear people talk about what you've done, what you've said and sometimes theres a lot of exaggeration and even cause conflict. Anyway it makes you feel alive, like someone out there regardless of what they say about you or what their intentions are: simple, you exist!
Ive worked for at least for different companies full time and quite a few part time jobs in restaurants, conversation schools and what I realise is that I don't even know where my co-workers live, their marital status or just any general detail about them. And because we hardly talk to each other it makes it even harder for me to remember their names. We often experience unrelenting pressure and stress, sometimes it causes people to feel lonely and inadequate. I would go home and just vent, call my close friends and just let it all out and they would sit there and listen and offer their support. Then my friends would also share their days hardship, that's how we make it through each week. Then I think about my co-workers and wonder how they manage through the week.
I always feel blessed because not one of my friends are from my home country but we make it work. And I always envy the Japanese, being in your own country you have a lot of advantage why not make use of it. Foreigners and a few Japanese themselves claim that the average Japanese hate changes. I personally think, every body hates changes. I hate it but my father always compliment me on my awesome ability to adjust to any given situation. For me I thinks the Japanese just don't want to step out of their comfort zone, stepping out in this context means being more social.
Japan is like the king of technology not only do they create all these masterpiece, it became a huge part of their lives. Sometimes technology replace an important aspect of human interaction causing people to be more insular.Instead of talking people text more. I have friends who rather text than call and stereotypically men don't like texting however these days people in general don't like talking.
Once I lost my phone and I was in no hurry to get a new one and I remain phone less for a few months. People were so surprised how I manage to get to my appointments on time, find locations and just live as if a phone is not important.
This cold communication replaced the actual contact and touch of another human being. People make less of an effort to see each other. I do get caught in this cold communication too, I go for months without seeing my college friends but rely on facebook to keep ourselves updated on whats happening in our daily lives via facebook status.
Most young people suffer from loneliness, youths become addicted to solitary recreation: Watching TV, playing video games and spending countless hours in front of their computers. In Japan there is a huge communication gap between family members, children heavily rely on their cell phones to contact their career driven parents. As soon as these children leave home, their parents often feel lonely once they approach old age and no longer have their career to keep them occupied.
Foreign students studying in Japan often suffer from loneliness, being away from home and living alone in a huge city like Tokyo where creating a new social circle can be very difficult. My first year in Japan was tough but being with other students who are going through the same thing really helped. A friend of ours claimed that she went crazy because she felt alone and lonely. 2 months into the programme and she dropped out and left for home. Thanks to metropolis and other sites people find friends, join social clubs, sports club and many other clubs however its still not enough for most people. Theres no point on letting those problems keeping you floored.
Today take the first step and jump out of your comfort zone and be kind to a stranger, read a good book, start on a project, have more hope or go sky diving....then smile more often.
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