When I was a child, that is, in the 1970s and 1980s, it was really a peaceful and prosperous time-- Doors are unbolted at night, and lost articles are always returned. Although the material aspect was still relatively scarce at that time, people's spiritual aspect reached an unprecedented height.

What impressed me most was that the distance between people was close and harmonious. Every door was open, and many families didn't even have a door at all. In the streets and alleys are all neighbors talking about the daily lives of families. It was also common to drop around. If you were in time for dinner, you would be warmly invited to sit down and eat together. Maybe you would drink a few cups of wine. Any family that could have fried peanuts, tofu skin, or even leek eggs was regarded as quite rich.

Occasionally, there was a woman who called people’s names in the street and claimed that someone had stolen her chickens or ducks. It was a very rare thing, as boring as the cicadas on the trees in the hot summer.

Decades later, when I returned to the countryside, I found that I could never return to the past. Closed doors and deserted streets have completely lost the excitement of those days. Cicadas are no longer heard, and street scolding has become an extravagant hope. There are only old people and children left in the village. Young people go out to work, and few people raise chickens and ducks. There are projects everywhere, trees no longer exist, and cicadas have no place to live.

The biggest change is that the distance between people is getting farther and farther away. There are few villagers to drop around, and few people sit together to chat, who are busy with their own money making business, and don't care about other people's affairs as much.

Why is there such a big change? Personally, I think there are several reasons.

1.The development of radio, television, computers, mobile phones and other media has changed people's lives. People have more entertainment and pastime. The era of chitchat as the only entertainment is over.

2.People have their own things to do. It is no longer the era of large collective production, and people get accustomed to working at sunrise and resting at sunrise. Everyone is busy, so there is no time to chat and drop around.

3.There has been a polarization between the rich and the poor, and people have distanced themselves from each other. Without a common language, they naturally cannot come together.

4.People with various values, world outlook, outlook on life, etc., are not in the same circle, at the same level, or even in the same world, gradually becoming farther and farther away.

5.The era of low productivity and material scarcity requires people to help each other to complete some things. With the development of productivity and material enrichment, people can complete it alone without the help of others. In this case, people no longer need to connect to others, no longer rely on others, and pay more attention to self-reliance.

Adjusting from too close to an appropriate distance is social progress, but if the distance is too far, it is social regression and a kind of sadness.

我小的时候，也就是上世纪七八十年代，那时候真的是夜不闭户，路无拾遗，尽管物质方面还相对匮乏，但人们的精神方面可谓是达到了一个前所未有的高度。

给我印象最深的，是人与人之间的距离亲近而又融洽，家家户户大门四开，很多人家根本连大门也没有，街头巷尾、胡同里，皆是拉家常的左邻右舍。串门也是常事，如果正赶上吃饭，还会热情地拉你坐下一块吃，说不定还会喝上几盅酒。谁家如能炒个花生米，豆腐皮，甚至韭菜鸡蛋，那就是颇为丰盛的了。

偶尔有个骂街的妇女，丢了鸡鸭的，那是极个别的事情，如同炎热的夏天里树上的蝉鸣，一样的令人厌烦。

几十年过去，再回农村，却发现再也回不到从前。紧闭的大门，冷清的街道，完全没有了当年的那种热闹，蝉声不再，骂街声成了一种奢望。村子里只剩下老人和儿童，年轻人都外出打工，鲜有人养鸡养鸭。到处都是工程，林木不复存在，那知了也无了生存之地。

变化最大的，是人与人之间的关系越来越远，鲜有串门者，也很少有人坐在一起聊天，忙于自己挣钱的买卖，对别人的事也不那样关心了。

为何会有这样大的变化呢？我个人以为有以下几个方面的原因。

一、广播、电视、电脑、手机等媒体的发展改变了人们的生活，人们有了更多的娱乐和消遣，聊天为唯一娱乐的时代一去不返了。

二、人们有了自己的事情做，不再是大集体生产的时代，日出而作日入而息。人人忙忙碌碌，也就没有了聊天串门的时间。

三、出现了贫富分化，人与人之间拉开了距离，没有了共同的语言，自然就走不到一起。

四、价值观、世界观、人生观等发生变化，不在同一个圈子，不在同一个层次，甚至不在同一个世界，渐渐就越来越远。

五、生产力低下、物质匮乏的时代需要人们的互帮互助，才能完成一些事情，而随着生产力的发展及物质的丰富，人们独自便可完成而无需他人的帮助。在这种情况下，人们不再需要联络感情，不再依赖于他人，更注重自立。

由距离过近调整到一个适当的距离，这是社会的进步，但若距离过远，则是社会的倒退，是一种悲哀。

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