Half of lonely people think no one will notice if something bad happens to them

Re:Half of lonely people think no one will notice if somethi... by cgoecknerwald on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @05:15AM (#18541065)

> "This fixation on the spouse is kind of a modern oddity as well. In many societies past and present, your spouse, your parents, your kids, and maybe even your grandparents and grandkids are all of roughly equal importance."

Can you cite something for this?

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Re:Half of lonely people think no one will notice if somethi... by apatters on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @09:23AM (#18542458)

The Wikipedia article on extended family looks like a good primer on the diversity of family structures that exists around the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_family

Rather than "everyone is roughly equal" it's probably more accurate to say that the degree of power, dependence and investment between family members varies dramatically from culture to culture. The nuclear model is certainly widespread in modern times, but multi-generational models are still very common, especially in Asia.

The post-familial model, where Thanksgiving becomes Friendsgiving because you don't have any blood relatives you know and like, is surely the newest and rarest. I think having friends who are more important than extended family, let alone immediate family, is a pretty modern phenomenon.

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Re:Half of lonely people think no one will notice if somethi... by acct1771 on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @04:03PM (#18546716)

Lack of non-familial nursing homes.

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