A bearded guy from Los Angeles, Chuck McCarthy, invites everyone to take a walk in his company for a small fee. His example has become contagious, there are those who are ready to go to the movies or cafes and even become your “family” for Christmas for money. Writer Emily White discusses how ethical it is to pay for friendship.
Actor Chuck McCarthy in a T-shirt with the inscription “The People Walker” walks through the parks and streets of Los Angeles and communicates with everyone for a reward: $ 7 per mile. As Chuck himself says: “I needed money, and I posted ads in the park. I often observed people walking alone and decided to help them. More fun together.”
Now he has five assistants, a website, promotional products (t-shirts and mugs), and he accepts applications for walks by . His slogan is “Walk and talk” (walk and chat), he will talk to you on any topic, whether it’s the election or the latest film by George Lucas, or show local attractions. The service it offers is only part of a new trend. He’s not the only “people walker”. Business, announced as a new form of social interaction, is expanding.
Like everyone in the “friendship industry,” McCarthy commodifies social connections. If you have money, you can pay for a hug or a meal with a stranger. The reaction to these favors tends to depend on how intimate they are – say, “cuddle parties” seem weirder than dinner with a stranger – but the underlying principle of each is the same – the exchange of money for relationship.
What’s wrong with these services? We approve of dating clubs and parties for the elderly, but we condemn 30-year-olds who are willing to pay for a walk. Although we all need social contacts, regardless of age. The traditional view is that young people, in theory, have a lot of opportunities to make friends and build love relationships. But today’s youth have problems with this.
Young people aged 18-34 are more likely to suffer from loneliness than those over 55
A report from The Mental Health Foundation’s The Society of the Lonely found that young people aged 18-34 are more likely to suffer from loneliness than those over 55. Scientists also suggested that loneliness has a cohort effect, and representatives of each the next generation feel more and more isolated. The health effects of loneliness also accumulate over the years. If we want to prevent cardiovascular disease in 60-year-olds (which is largely associated with loneliness), we must begin to address the problems of broken bonds in 20-year-olds. But we are not focused on developing social support for young people.
If you’re too old for afterschool classes and school discos, but too young for friendly visits from senior volunteers, and don’t feel bad enough to call the helpline, you’re basically on your own. In a situation where there is not a single soulmate nearby, paying for live human communication offline may already seem like an acceptable option.
It’s not like I’m all for paid social connections. But I am against people feeling so alone that such a relationship would seem reasonable to them. Young people are facing growing social tensions right now: there are fewer jobs where you can enter a stable workforce, more and more vacancies with part-time or flexible schedules.
“For some reason, it is the market, and not the state, that responds to this problem and offers solutions,” says Arley Russell Hochschild, an American sociologist and professor at the University of California at Berkeley, author of The Outsourced Self (2013). “We are already used to paying strangers to walk our dogs, take care of our elderly parents, arrange weddings and birthdays, and take care of family graves. Walking with a companion, dating for a cup of coffee or a joint dinner for money is not yet common, but it is all a matter of time.”
Perhaps in ten years paid communication will be an ordinary service.
It is not very correct that the market responds to our needs for social connections. But what if there is no other way out. Of course, young people could organize crowdsourced dating parties, but those who attend them require a high degree of social trust and a lot of energy, which today’s youth tend to lack.
One day, in my early 30s, I felt so alone that I signed up for a dating night at an art gallery in Toronto and was so overwhelmed by the crowd of strangers I saw at the entrance that I slipped past, pretending not to see anyone, and ran down the street. to their affairs.
Perhaps, in ten years, paid communication will turn out to be an ordinary service. We will continue to criticize him, feeling some discomfort, but this business will stand. Our natural need for social connections is too great. If there is an open person who will offer us a walk and chat, we will go to him without turning away.
About the Developer
Emily White – author of Lonely: Learning to Live with Solitude (Harper Perennial, 2011).
Source: The Guardian