The Lessons of "The Perfect Neighbor"

"These are the weirdos posting Ring-camera footage of the suspicious-looking Cub Scout who had the audacity to ring their doorbell; they're wondering if their neighbor's sunflowers are spying on them; they're thinking they might call the cops on the teen-ager who just used their driveway to turn his car around, because that's got to count as trespassing. Statistically speaking, a lot of these people have guns."

"When children play together, it "requires solving some form of a social problem," the pediatrics professors Hillary L. Burdette and Robert C. Whitaker once wrote. The kids have to figure out "what to play, who can play, when to start, when to stop, and the rules of engagement." The teamwork and the give-and-take of play can help "cultivate a range of social and emotional capabilities such as empathy, flexibility, self-awareness, and self-regulation.""

Susan Lorincz repeatedly called police on neighbors, provoking united disgust from both law enforcement and community members. Her behavior exemplifies a broader post‑COVID pattern of informal surveillance and denunciation on platforms such as Nextdoor and neighborhood Facebook forums. Neighbors increasingly monitor minor incidents, post Ring‑camera clips, and suspect ordinary interactions, turning trivial actions into potential police matters. Many of these vigilant citizens own firearms, raising stakes. Childhood play requires negotiation, cooperation, and emotional skills—empathy, flexibility, self‑awareness, and self‑regulation—but declining unstructured outdoor play reduces opportunities to develop these capabilities.

Read at The New Yorker