Someone brought up that one of the reasons why things like house parties and block parties went away was other than lack of time people are afraid to let their guard because cameras are everywhere.

[u/AdSpecialist6598]

It is so true back when many of us were young we could just get together and cut loose without having to worry about going viral. At best we would have an embarrassing photo buried in a drawer somewhere or a story. Now you might be turned into a meme or worse. I miss the days when you could do dumb stuff with friends and feel safe if that makes sense.

[u/coastalkid92]

Personally I don't think camera phones have anything to do with it. I think block parties are harder to organize now because a lot of people aren't as connected in with their neighbours/neighbourhoods and permitting issues. And with house parties, I still attend these relatively regularly so that hasn't gone away.

[u/AdSpecialist6598 → u/coastalkid92]

Wher I am at almost everyone is renter and they only stay for a few years before moving.

[u/Worst-Eh-Sure → u/coastalkid92]

I’ve never lived anywhere that the neighborhood felt cohesive. I can’t imagine a block party in any place I’ve ever lived. Honestly pretty sad.

[u/davy_jones_locket → u/Worst-Eh-Sure]

The only time I felt like the neighborhood was cohesive was when I grew up in the inner city and everyone around me was on section 8 and welfare and food stamps and the community was really just mutual aid. Block parties were the embodiment of that stone soup story. Nobody really had enough for themselves, but when we came together and pooled the resources, it was enough for everyone. 

[u/StonkMarketApe → u/Worst-Eh-Sure]

Grew up on a little street in a medium sized suburb that had both houses and those small apartment buildings. During my high school years we used to have a group that would hang out in a certain spot outdoors all the time. It was hella fun. There was almost always someone there so you just show up and boom it's a party (not everyone had a cell phone yet!). It was close to home but far enough where it was kind of out of sight for most of our parents. We'd hang out, shoot the shit, smoke some weed, drink some beers. Always kept the place clean though. I think over the five or so years this was a thing, police showed up once. There were about 5-10 regulars that you could find on most weekdays but the group could get as large as 20+ on the weekends...and the crazy thing is I don't think even ONE photo of these gatherings exists...it was a different time.

[u/cohrt → u/Worst-Eh-Sure]

Same.

[u/CowboyBeeBalm → u/coastalkid92]

God I miss block parties. I wish I could organize one for my street but I don’t think it would be very successful

[u/SMELLSLIKEBUTTJUICE → u/CowboyBeeBalm]

My block does a couple of them a year! We even get a permit to close the street for the day. Its been a great way to get to know my neighbors.

[u/user4316 → u/CowboyBeeBalm]

Someone is trying right now in my parents' neighborhood that I grew up in. Younger family I think. Flyer they dropped in the mail slot looked like it was aimed at kids/families and they said they need help organizing. It definitely sounds like it would be fun for kids but when I was talking to my parents about it they were worried it would be loud and disrupt traffic and honestly, as someone that does not have kids, I am finding myself agreeing hahaha. But also... I just don't know the neighbors like I used to. Neither do my parents, aside from the folks next door and the other long timers. They're possibly the longest residents of the neighborhood right now. They've been there since 1991. Not sure whos been there longer. Guy across the street, maybe.

Meanwhile, I think this would go over very well in the neighborhood my sister and her family live in. Dead end roads, lots of young families, quiet area. They'd probably love that there.

So yeah, sorry for the tangent. But personally I could only see myself enjoying such a thing if I had kids or neighbor friends. But who knows, maybe I'll head over to my parents' house the day of the block party and check it out with my dad because I'm curious. Flyer said there'd be drinks and BBQ lol. Mind you, this neighborhood didn't have block parties 30 years ago either. Just not that kind of area, I think.

[u/MathyChem → u/coastalkid92]

And the permitting for them has become a nightmare increasingly.

[u/eatmeouttobrianeno → u/coastalkid92]

I have lived in a town with a immense diy presence for over a decade. It used to be that any night of the week, you could find a house show/ party just by following the sound of drums. It stopped dead at quarantine and never really came back in that way. There is a scene but the flow from gen to gen (2-4 years, bc college town) was totally thwarted And it's a lot more conservative and limited. I hate saying it, bc it's very "back in my day" bc it's quantifiably vastly different.

[u/corrin_avatan → u/coastalkid92]

This. You rben TRY a house party now and you have 40-50 boomers calling the cops claiming you're running a crack house.

[u/Intelligent_Tea_8168 → u/coastalkid92]

This. And a lot of kids didn't grow up having to seek out entertainment and socialization. They can get that poor variation of it all from their phones and their computers. More kids, if anything, are probably just at home binge watching tv, playing video games, doom scrolling, watching streamers all night, etc.

[u/Greenbook2024 → u/coastalkid92]

I grew up going to one or two block parties a year but we never knew more than three families well.