From Pets to Animal Companions: A Reflection of Status or the Contemporary Experience of Hardship and Resignation?
In today's society, the primary function of keeping 'pets' is simply to find a companion with whom one can live in harmony. Because of this, modern society often no longer uses the term 'pet' but rather prefers to call them 'animal companions'.
We all know that modern society has basically solved many problems related to human needs, such as the need for shelter and protection, the need for sufficient food supply, and the need for prevention and treatment of diseases. However, contemporary society has failed to provide people with high-quality, supportive partner relationships. In the past, the residents around people's lives not only knew each other but were often connected by marriage and children. For them, a partner relationship was not an urgent issue. At that time, animals could also provide a certain degree of partner relationships, but the value of their role was not as significant as today.
But in today's society, especially residents living in urban areas, people often live in their own apartments with an 'anti-theft door' separating them from their neighbors and friends and family, losing harmonious neighborhood relationships. They are lonely and helpless in this urban life. Young people are getting married later and later, or not at all, and the divorce rate is rising. The number of single-parent families is increasing year by year. At the same time, people's lifespan is relatively longer, and the number of 'empty nest' families is increasing.
In addition, people often face increasing pressure from education, work, and promotion, and they are becoming more and more submissive to their bosses and superiors to keep their jobs. Under such competitive pressure, not only are people's mutual trust broken, but their self-confidence is also greatly damaged. This will inevitably lead to shame and self-doubt, and other life experiences.
Under such a social background, keeping pets can replace the warmth, mutual assistance, and love that are missing in our culture. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that 'pets' or 'animal companions' have actually become people's substitutes for partners. Because pets have become partners' substitutes, they help us overcome the loneliness caused by urban life and fill in the missing links in the collective. As a substitute for partners, pets can activate the dull atmosphere in empty apartments, providing countless singles with a sense of home.
Because pets are substitutes for partners, they can replace disappointed or absent husbands, wives, or children, immediately making empty houses full. For people living in developed countries, the elderly often feel very lonely, and keeping pets has become their best way to dispel loneliness. Because pets often become their loyal listeners, after people communicate with pets, their loneliness can be dispelled, and their frustration and anxiety can be reduced.
According to a survey, 98% of pet owners talk to their pets, 80% of people consider them 'people' rather than animals when talking, 28% of people trust their pets and tell them about what happened that day. The reason for this phenomenon is that it is difficult to find listeners around people's lives. If someone is willing to listen to their stories, why do they still talk to dogs and cats?
Pets that were previously considered useless actually have their uses. As substitutes for partners, they can make cities more suitable for people to live in. They can make pet owners happy like clown comedians, relax them like wives and husbands, and care for them like children. And all of this costs only a few thousand yuan a year, so one or two pets can replace the effect achieved by a group of service workers.
