The story of Chris McCandless did not even take place that long ago. Less than twenty years ago he was hitchhiking across the country and meeting all sorts of great new people, at least that is what we read. Therefore, my original argument that it is just too dangerous nowadays seems slightly invalid to me. In answering all the questions, of course hitchhiking is beneficial to those who need it. They want to get to some place faster and hitching a ride is obviously the easiest and cheapest way to do it. I believe that hitchhiking has not changed much over time at all, though it seems to have to many of us. This is because most of us have grown up being told about the dangers of strangers, and, living in more densely populated, busy areas where our lives become more and more anonymous. I believe it was most likely easier for Chris to get rides with people from smaller towns, because they are less insular.
Maybe I am reaching beyond the scope of my knowledge by saying something like that, and if I were to be refuted I would honestly not have much of an argument. I have never hitchhiked, and most likely, never will. I guess, in conclusion, my view of hitchhiking is that the dangers have most likely always been the same and that the only our perceptions of it as a risky move have grown. This would be because I have grown up in a larger community with lots of anonymity of lives and lessons about being wary of strangers. This would be similar for a lot of the country in general as population grows and communities become larger.
