Having never lived in an area with a population density less than 25,000 people per square mile, my idea of a suburban lifestyle was somewhat flawed. Pop-culture led me to imagine the suburbs as quasi-utopias, where each house looks identical, a “stepford” wife is at every door, every family knows every other family, and the community organization has near-dictatorial control over its subjects. I soon came to realize that reality failed to meet my assumptions. Suburbs are less idyllic villages and more modern micro-cities. They have small downtowns, shopping malls, and easy access to the large cities they surround. Suburbs combine one with the peace and intimacy of a small neighborhood with the activities of and accessibility to large urban areas. Despite the conjoined existence of urban and suburban environments, there are separate stereotypes and behaviors which have come to represent the suburban population.
Modern suburbia still represents an ideal America, the perfect representation of the American dream. But a suburban lifestyle is still far from utopic. Much of the suburban population lives within the lower-income brackets. Suburban schools are often disregarded in favor of a prominent city education. Labor and commercial areas are distant and lack options and variety. There is a reason why so many personal stories contain a move from the suburb to the city.
One study showed that although the rate of mental illness in suburban areas is not significantly different from that of urban areas, people living in suburban areas are less likely to be diagnosed but, when diagnosed, consume a significantly larger amount of medications.
Another study discussed the social comforts of children who were raised in suburban areas. It showed that suburban children formed more intimate relationships and were more likely to trust people they have met. The children were able to rapidly surround themselves with people they knew and trusted, and as a result had a larger support network. However, this extreme knowledge of the community is not all positive. The suburban communities are warier of strangers, barring any foreigner who entered their closed circle. Surveyed suburban populations were rasher when passing judgment and shared a mutual prejudice, easily finding someone to blame regardless of the scapegoat’s innocence.
There is a certain terror that comes with this communal thinking. The suburban community has evolved into an extremely closed social group. Anyone who has crossed the suburbanites finds returning from exile neigh impossible while newcomers are judged and analyzed before being accepted. The caution is an explicable evolutionary trait. The community allows for an individual to have a trustworthy and reliable social network that provides and protects. Within a community, an individual does not have to confront problems and threats alone. A small community, such as the suburb, allows for the good fortune of one to become the success of many while the mistakes and responsibilities of one become that of many.
But this evolutionary bonding is effective to an extent. Personal observations, conducted interviews, and research studies have shown that children being raised in modern suburbia see the community less like a safety rope and more like a noose. Growing up in the same neighborhood surrounded by the same people one begins to lose their privacy. Every childish blunder, embarrassing moment, and traumatic experience is witnessed and documented. A suburban high school student can never escape his or her past. Perhaps this is a reason why, as one study noted, suburban kids are forced to deal with bullying and harassment more than urban kids. For example, if you were to make enemies with a peer in the second grade, and the two of you were in the same schools, saw each other daily, knew each other’s histories and families, it would be difficult to let bygones be bygones. The inability to appropriately distance oneself from the community allows for grudges to brew. Thus many suburban children elect to never return once they were able to leave. For them, the tight-knit neighborhoods are not only monotonous but an inescapable reminder of past mistakes.
Modern suburbia still represents an ideal America, the perfect representation of the American dream. But a suburban lifestyle is still far from utopic. Much of the suburban population lives within the lower-income brackets. Suburban schools are often disregarded in favor of a prominent city education. Labor and commercial areas are distant and lack options and variety. There is a reason why so many personal stories contain a move from the suburb to the city.
One study showed that although the rate of mental illness in suburban areas is not significantly different from that of urban areas, people living in suburban areas are less likely to be diagnosed but, when diagnosed, consume a significantly larger amount of medications.
Another study discussed the social comforts of children who were raised in suburban areas. It showed that suburban children formed more intimate relationships and were more likely to trust people they have met. The children were able to rapidly surround themselves with people they knew and trusted, and as a result had a larger support network. However, this extreme knowledge of the community is not all positive. The suburban communities are warier of strangers, barring any foreigner who entered their closed circle. Surveyed suburban populations were rasher when passing judgment and shared a mutual prejudice, easily finding someone to blame regardless of the scapegoat’s innocence.
There is a certain terror that comes with this communal thinking. The suburban community has evolved into an extremely closed social group. Anyone who has crossed the suburbanites finds returning from exile neigh impossible while newcomers are judged and analyzed before being accepted. The caution is an explicable evolutionary trait. The community allows for an individual to have a trustworthy and reliable social network that provides and protects. Within a community, an individual does not have to confront problems and threats alone. A small community, such as the suburb, allows for the good fortune of one to become the success of many while the mistakes and responsibilities of one become that of many.
But this evolutionary bonding is effective to an extent. Personal observations, conducted interviews, and research studies have shown that children being raised in modern suburbia see the community less like a safety rope and more like a noose. Growing up in the same neighborhood surrounded by the same people one begins to lose their privacy. Every childish blunder, embarrassing moment, and traumatic experience is witnessed and documented. A suburban high school student can never escape his or her past. Perhaps this is a reason why, as one study noted, suburban kids are forced to deal with bullying and harassment more than urban kids. For example, if you were to make enemies with a peer in the second grade, and the two of you were in the same schools, saw each other daily, knew each other’s histories and families, it would be difficult to let bygones be bygones. The inability to appropriately distance oneself from the community allows for grudges to brew. Thus many suburban children elect to never return once they were able to leave. For them, the tight-knit neighborhoods are not only monotonous but an inescapable reminder of past mistakes.