You know, the cost of modern comfort has been this profound sense of loneliness that seems to be everywhere now. It’s a trade-off we’re all living with, where our material gains have somehow eroded our sense of community. Junger really hits on a fundamental tension in our society.
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Meaning
At its core, this quote suggests that our pursuit of safety, convenience, and material wealth has come at the expense of our deep, innate human need for close-knit community and belonging.
Explanation
Look, here’s the thing I’ve seen over and over. We’ve built a world of incredible individual comfort—heated homes, endless entertainment, food delivery. But in doing so, we’ve systematically dismantled the very structures that used to force us together. The tribes, the villages, the tight-knit communities where people needed each other for survival. That need created a bond, a shared purpose that’s largely absent today. We’re more connected than ever, yet we’re drowning in a sea of superficial interactions. It’s a paradox. Our comfort has made us independent to the point of isolation.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Life (320) |
| Topics | comfort (14), loneliness (8), modernity (6) |
| Literary Style | concise (408), poetic (635) |
| Emotion / Mood | reflective (382), sobering (17) |
| Overall Quote Score | 81 (258) |
Origin & Factcheck
This is straight from Sebastian Junger’s 2016 book, Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging. It’s a key thesis of his work. You sometimes see similar sentiments floating around, but this specific, powerful phrasing is Junger’s, born from his research and observations in the US.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Sebastian Junger (60) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Sebastian Junger is born in Belmont, United States on 1962. He studied cultural anthropology at Wesleyan University and built his career in journalism. He is the one of the leading contributor and editor at Vanity Fair. Along with Tim Hetherington, he codirected Restrepo(2010 American documentary), which went on to win Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and an Academy Award nomination. The Sebastian Junger book list includes The Perfect Storm, Tribe, A Death in Belmont, Freedom, War, and In My Time of Dying, each marked by distinct writing style
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | The cost of modern comfort has been the loneliness of modern life |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 2016; ISBN: 978-1-4555-6638-6; Last edition: 2017; Number of pages: 192. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 3: In Bitter Safety I Awake, Approximate page 70 from 2017 edition |