Why are rural areas becoming more and more cold and indifferent nowadays

Mingyu's electric bike broke down on the way home, and it happened on a small slope. He got off and pushed it up with great effort. Just then another electric bike rode past him. The person on it was only one year younger than Mingyu, and could be counted as a childhood playmate. He glanced over, then kept riding on. Mingyu's heart skipped a beat. He did not feel hurt; instead, he secretly felt glad. Mingyu was even more afraid that he would stop to help push.

I once watched a TV drama about a rural girl who came back after going to the city. She explained to everyone that city people do not even know the neighbors across the hall, and neighbors do not talk to each other, and then she laughed heartily. Now it seems that villagers are slowly turning into "city people."

Classmates from the same village who work elsewhere all stay at home when they return, not going out, even if their homes are right next to each other. If not for social media, you would have no idea at all. When they occasionally run into each other on the street, they ask a few questions like they are interrogating each other. It ends with "Oh, then I'm going home to eat."

Openly, communication between elders and younger people who are not relatives is even more limited to the question of how much money one earns. But the underground discussions are in full bloom: Is it a private company? It's been so long and still no partner? After getting married, why still no child? Is there something wrong? His hairstyle is really ugly. His wife doesn't look good either. Every day they fear others will gossip about them behind their backs, yet every day they gossip about others.

All displays of positive energy are condensed into specific occasions and events: weddings and the Chinese New Year. I can't think of anything more.

The economy has bubbles, the internet has bubbles, and the bubble of face and social obligations in rural areas is truly getting bigger and bigger. In the face of this bubble, money has become a sharp needle. Everything has to do with money. Even if the amount is very small, brothers turn against each other, husbands and wives divorce. It could not be more embarrassing.

In the past, everyone was poor, so there was nothing to hide. Now the economy develops fast, and many people are afraid of falling behind. They all show off that they are developing too, using economic and spiritual levels they have not yet reached to boast about themselves, looking full on the outside but empty within.

The most obvious phenomenon is that debt keeps piling higher. When a young man takes a wife, it can actually cause some parents to spend the rest of their lives repaying the money spent on getting him married. Facing such an atmosphere in life, how can one happily interact with neighbors again, and how can one open one's heart to love and help each other?