The Metropolis And Mental Life Gorg Simmel Analysis

In “The Metropolis and Mental Life” Gorg Simmel describes the difference between urban and rural areas. People were moving from rural areas to larger cities for jobs. Simmel believes the vast number of people in the cities as well as the stimulus in the environment caused people in the city to be less personal than those in rural areas. In some ways, this is true since people in larger cities seem to be more concerned about themselves then with their neighbors.
I live in a small rural community where I know my neighbors. We try to watch out for each other and we care about each other. For example, one of my neighbors lost her husband last year and my father helps her mow her lawn and repairs things around her home. If she needs help she knows …show more content…
Her job is very demanding and requires her to work long hours. She lives in a large apartment complex where she does not know any of her neighbors. This seems to follow Simmel’s theory because he said people in the city work long hours and have very little free time. Unlike Simmel’s theory she spends most of her free time helping others. She volunteers at the local food drive and the Christmas toy drive. Her family and friends are very important to her. Although she probably would not notice if her neighbor got a new car, she has many good friends and is not just concerned with herself but chooses to help others when she …show more content…
Some New Yorkers seem to be unaware of anyone around them. They seemed to be uncaring and unfriendly. In such a busy city, it is easy to see how someone can become this way. However, we found many people willing to help us with directions and suggestions of where to go and where to eat. Places like Little Italy seemed to be like a small community within the big city. People seemed to know and care about their neighbors. While at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, we talked to the lady next to us, who asked us to help her save places for her family. She told us her husband was in the fire department and was in the parade playing the bag pipes. She even had him wave at us as he came by.
With today’s technology, I believe people are more in tuned to their surroundings. For example, Facebook is a way for people to keep connected with others even if they do not see them in person. Go fund me type accounts alert others of the hardships some people face. People from all over the world donate to Go fund me accounts and to people they do not even know. Also with our current technology, most people have a camera and a video camera in their phones and video people and events. Sometimes these end up on television such as the