I don't think the two are fully related, at least not causally. If 1-3 are true, then there should be a large enough pool with things in common to avoid loneliness. If this specifically means sexual/relationship loneliness than, yeah.
Third spaces going away and moving a lot online has definitely had an impact on people hanging out outside of much more niche groups. I don't care for organized religion much, but people of various backgrounds worshipped together. People had volleyball and other local leagues made up of all kinds of people who saw a flier for it. Men (not sure if women had something similar) went to fraternal order of the whatevers. Hell, dad and I went to Commodore computer enthusiast meet-ups. I think the loss of things like that has been bad for a number of reasons, including loneliness.
BRB -- I have to tell the country of Japan they're doing dates wrong /s.
For the things I'm thinking about, the year generally doesn't matter. I'm thinking advertisements or even things that say like 'Spring 2025 menu 2025年の春メヌー' or something which preserves context. A lot are also written on shop whiteboards and such which are changed fairly regularly. In my own notes, in anything I may care about that far into the future, I do write the full date in ISO-8601
I really want to go to Xi An and some other historical/archaeological sites. Shanghai is also on the list as I've met some cool folks from there over the years. I used to watch a YouTube channel about cooking that I think was short there (日食記 or something similar).
I really need to finish this game. I got to the inn in the place with darkness (trying to be vague but also kinda forget) which I think is like the beginning of act II? Then life happened and I haven't touched it since. I don't remember anything, really, but I also kinda don't want to start over. Oh well, it's farming season so this will have to wait until winter anyway.
I really liked unless in perl; especially as I get older !length or something makes that bang really easy to miss. I use !(length) or something instead to visually set it aside. unless made this much more visually clear.
In the late '80s, I remember people being pissed at Japan as its economy looked to overtake that of the US. They felt somehow betrayed because the US, and its monetary policy, had helped Japan get to where it was. With the effects of the Plaza Accord and following things, Japan's bubble would pop. In something young me could never imagine, I've been living in Japan a decade now.
Growing up in the '80s and '90s in rural USA, here's what I remember:
poverty and starvation are big problems (also how moms got kids to eat all their food)
it was mostly extremely rural and undeveloped
they were communist and not to be trusted
they are not welcoming of outsiders at all
I have a couple of Chinese friends today and would love to visit at some point, but I'm not a huge fan of what's been happening in governance in the last decade and change so will probably hold off on that.
I have been online since the days of BBs in the late '80s. Poe's law is a real thing. I've seen dumber (IMO) and more extreme opinions so much, I can no longer reliably know from some short text alone if this is a thing the person really believes or they're taking the piss. Sometimes, with enough context, it's clear, but sometimes a single sentence or two in a response leaves me know real way of knowing (and I don't feel like trying to read a poster's entire posting history which may also have more sarcastic remarks in that vein cloaking their real intent/feeling).
Vegan cheese isn't really a thing here in Japan (hell, "real" cheese in general isn't), but I can say Japan also has some pretty decent soy-based icecreams.
There are lazy cops for sure (not a Japan exclusive). The other side is you'll note Japan has a high-90s-percentile conviction rate. To keep that, it seems like they try to also avoid anything that isn't super secure for a conviction. It's definitely a complex topic and my foreign ass only sees so much (and some posts by others, mainly foreigners).
In Japan I got stopped, asked for my documentation, and asked to empty my pockets once. Was about to fly back to the US within a day or two and was trying to use up all the loose change I had accumulated during my 3 months. I guess a passing cop thought it was weird when I was counting it up outside (didn't want to do it inside in line and hold everyone up).
Later, after living in Japan several years, got asked for ID, everything taken out of my pockets, and my backpack searched. I had gone from a bar to the convenience store and was headed back to the same bar. It was humiliating and infuriating. I've never been an English teacher, but I can't imagine how that must feel to be a teacher and have the kids or parents go by. They had apparently received a tip that there were drugs in the area so were searching people. Apparently not only foreigners, as I ran into a Japanese guy who got the same treatment. They were polite and all but it was incredibly violating and basically put me off from wanting to interact with law enforcement here again (and I had previously turned in lost items to the closest police box on two separate occasions for people to claim).
So if that's valid, could some states get bought by other countries? Hell, I bet many residents in some states would pay to have it be part of a different country.
Oh, I have that as well, it's just more like ... data, I guess? I think sometimes what I wrote makes people think I have no imagination or creativity; I definitely do but it's just different.
Being able to eat gluten. So many things have wheat and thus gluten. Soy sauce? Check. Dumpling wrappers basically everywhere in Japan? Check (more flexible and easier to work that pure rice flour). Tons of sauces? Check. Salad dressings? Check (sometimes via soy sauce in Japan).
I don't think the two are fully related, at least not causally. If 1-3 are true, then there should be a large enough pool with things in common to avoid loneliness. If this specifically means sexual/relationship loneliness than, yeah.
Third spaces going away and moving a lot online has definitely had an impact on people hanging out outside of much more niche groups. I don't care for organized religion much, but people of various backgrounds worshipped together. People had volleyball and other local leagues made up of all kinds of people who saw a flier for it. Men (not sure if women had something similar) went to fraternal order of the whatevers. Hell, dad and I went to Commodore computer enthusiast meet-ups. I think the loss of things like that has been bad for a number of reasons, including loneliness.