zhōng guó中国nián qīng rén年轻人de的gū dú孤独：wèi shén me为什么zài在chéng shì城市lǐ里jiāo péng yǒu交朋友biàn变nán难le了？
In China today, many young people work in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Every day, they ride the subway and look at their phones, but they rarely talk to the people around them.
Although everyone chats online all the time, many young people feel lonelier and lonelier.
City life is very busy.
Young people spend a lot of time going to work and commuting every day, and even lunch is ordered through food-delivery apps on their phones.
Although they reply quickly on WeChat and like to share photos online, in real life it is hard to find a close friend they can truly confide in.
Because they lack real care and concern, many people have started playing virtual dating games to look for “emotional value.”
Emotional value means the feeling of being reassured and cared for.
Why is this happening?
Decades ago, Chinese society mainly relied on work units, or danwei.
People worked in the same place, lived together, and their children went to the same school.
Coworkers were also neighbors, and everyone was like one big family.
But now, for better job opportunities, many people leave their hometowns.
People live in tall apartment buildings, and even roommates who rent together rarely see each other.
One scholar called this phenomenon the “disappearance of the nearby.”
At the same time, there are many food-delivery workers, cleaners, and security guards in the city.
Like office workers, they have also left their hometowns and stay busy in the city every day.
However, although everyone meets every day, they rarely truly know one another, and it is even harder to become friends.
Young people’s loneliness is not only a personal problem, but also the result of social change.
In competitive big cities, how people rebuild trust and find their own communities and friends is an important issue that society needs to think about now.