I'm not sure how much academic rigor I should put into a post on a bdsm site. After all, you will come to understand I take all of this for what it is and that means not taking it too seriously. Best is for you to just trust me and never look things up on your own. It's easier for both of us that way, lol.
I'm what you call a young-in. One of those Zillenials that grew up with just a taste of the era before. Back when screens were of the CRT variety and social media didn't exist. I still remember when my father got his first smartphone - the iPhone 3G and how he would boast day and night about all of its features. Back then and up until I got to college I was one hell of a techno-optimist, but this highly connected society we now have is not all it's cracked up to be. Cases of traditional neuroses have become endemic whereas before you might know one or two people with depression or anxiety. Borderline and schizo-typal behavior are also on the rise. The data shows that such disorders really popped off during the late 'oughts when phone screens and social media became ubiquitous in western industrial society. If you are cool (read: well read and agree with me) you will have already known this to be true. Many in my generation have been disillusioned by the spectre of mass digital media despite still being in it's not so SSC clutches. But I want to take a step back in time and broaden the scope of this trend. And get to a question I've been meaning to answer: does this effect the kink community?
It was around the turn of the century that Robert Putnam came out with his book "Bowling Alone" a dense, exhaustive, and exhausting look at the breakdown of American civil society from its post-war boom in the 50s until modern day (which at the time of publishing was the late 90s/2000s) The trend? The public's engagement with clubs, restaurants, neighbors - society as a whole had been decreasing since the 60s. The culprit? Television and Computer use. If Putnam was here today he wouldn't be surprised with how bad it has gotten. Society has only dissolved more as each of us are more and more atomized. This is where I go into some speculation about the kink community since the same surveying apparatus does not exist here, but I wager a similar thing has happened here. One thing that doesn't get brought up in Putnam's work but is very true is that people today are having less sex than ever before. Young adults go to less parties and consume less alcohol. They go to clubs and bars less. I could see this trend also applying to bdsm clubs and kink communities. But I'm not quite sure so here's a question for you: have you ever gone to an actual kink event? I'm not saying it has to be the Folsom Street Festival but what about meetups? What about workshops? Have you ever met someone through this site or any like it? I ask these genuinely since if you look at my join date it was very recent. My guess is it's a fair bit less than one should expect.
And I'd expect it to be much less than other forms of engagement. There is this sort of rush that comes with partaking in the taboo (it's part of why it's fun) but it takes balls to get out there with others. Add to that the availability of online pornography and any joe-shmoe with a bondage fetish can just as easily get his kicks from a quick Google search. Before there had to be work done to find such communities and a requirement to partake in acts to be admitted. This is no longer the case.
"But Salmon, what about the Internet connecting more like minded people? Surely there is more in the community now than ever before." Yes, most likely. But of those people the rate of actual engagement is probably less. While one might assume that entry into the community requires nothing more than to have the kinks themselves. If that rarely gets exercise with others than what difference does it make? That might be a hot take for someone so new, but one thing that transcends communities is the fact that ideas are nothing without action.
My suggestion to you - get off your phone or computer and go do something. You'll thank yourself for it.
If you thought this was enjoyable to read stay tuned as I share more topics that interest me. This was off the cuff when I was caffeinated so expect better writing on even more touchy subjects in the future.
Keep swimming upstream or whatever
- SalmonMoed