Why No One Want to Go Outside Anymore

People behind bars looking at screens with suburban sprawl outside and the sun in the distance.

It’s not a secret that people have been spending more time indoors as technology advances. With the Industrial Revolution, work was largely moved indoors. Trains, and then cars and planes allowed people to travel in an enclosed space. Even if we don’t typically think of driving as being indoors, it isn’t quite outdoors either. From radio to TV, to the internet, entertainment has kept people inside more and more.

While it began at least a century ago, this trend towards being indoors more has been accelerating. Whether by accident or design, the outside world has been getting increasingly inhospitable. The pandemic of 2020 was only an extreme example of a situation where we were made to feel unsafe outside of our homes. In a more everyday sense, going out often seems inconvenient, unpleasant, and, often unnecessary.

Convenience

It’s more convenient than ever to stay in. Not only can we order takeout, we can even order our groceries from Amazon Fresh, Walmart, and various grocery store apps. Meanwhile, it’s less and less convenient to go out for a few reasons.

Cost

For many of us, it’s getting too expensive to leave the house! Eating out, going to movies, watching live bands, or attending a sporting event is becoming unaffordable for more and more people. Even if we…