It’s because America is built on insecurity. You never know if you’re rich enough, smart enough, skinny enough, pretty enough …

I wonder what anyone in Japan can say of the state of vanity over there. Is it relegated to an age ranges or genders, or is it beginning to pollute the culture entirely like in America?

My opinion is that Japan’s primary sin is pride and not necessarily vanity.

With how car-centric North America is, there isn’t much to walk to for a lot of people. Things are just very far from each other. I’d walk places a whole lot more if I had things at a reasonable walking distance, I used to do it all the time when I didn’t have kids and lived closer to the city. Back then, I sold my car less than a month after moving there, and relied on car sharing services for the odd trip outside of town.

Nowadays, I’m in a medium-sized agricultural town in Canada, not far outside the larger metropolitan area where half the province lives. Realistically, at a walking distance, I have a convenience store, a drugstore, and a small co-op hardware store. The closest grocery store is at least a 30 minute walk. Both my sons’ school and daycare, the closest market or shops I’d go at, they are all 4+ away.

Americans , by the actual numbers of participation, don't actually go to the gym that much -- the ones that do are loud and have a lot of overlap with social media participation.

is radio taiso still a thing? Employee mandated exercise would go over like a lead balloon here.