It is true that Affluenza make individuals become disconnected from the community since they are cocooned in their houses with all their stuff. For example, Affluenza does this by isolating individuals in the society where each person cares for himself or herself only. However, I honestly disagree that the reason why people stay in their homes is due to the danger of society. For instance, we cannot say that insecurity is the main reason why individuals stay in their homes. Therefore, I disagree that individuals opt to stay in their homes because of crime rates and danger of the roads as well as driving.
Thus, the main reason why people become disconnected from the community is because of the “Affluenza” ailment as portrayed by the authors. Affluenza increases isolation, leads to lack of “sense of place” in many neighborhoods, and leads to declining social capital (Graaf et al 65). In addition, it results to private overconsumption, which affects the individuals’ relationship in the community.
It is absolutely true that personal businesses are being taken out by chain businesses. For example, the number of departmental stores has been increasing at an alarming rate. This is mainly contributed by Affluenza as people quit becoming a nation of joiners and become a loners’ nation where they are only interested to satisfy their insatiable needs for stuff. It is correct that this takes away individuals’ comfort as the friendly restaurant and shop owners are actually forced out. This is the reason why big corporations have taken the place of the former privately owned businesses that were vital in connecting the society members together. Thus, when this occurs, people become disconnected from the community hence our community begins to fall out. I also agree that community members become strangers after their decreased participation in the community organizations as a result of disappearance of personal businesses that are vital in joining people together (Graaf et al 66).
For that reason, I think the reason why individuals become afraid of leaving their houses lies more on the effects of our insatiable needs for stuff or Affluenza than the society insecurity. This disease as discussed makes people become strangers to one another and as a result people do not become good friends who interact with one another. This creates boundaries between individuals hence when they come into contact with one another, they feel somehow uncomfortable hence they opt to remain cocooned in their houses.
Works cited
De, Graaf J, Thomas H. Naylor, and David Wann. Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. San Francisco, Calif: Berrett-Koehler, 2005.
