Where Has Solitude Gone?

I like being alone. I don’t hate crowds, but I feel more comfortable and grounded when I eat, watch a film, and travel by myself. That’s why social media is really draining for me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t use it at all. I use it for business and pleasure somewhat frequently. It’s this "social" aspect that I find peculiar. 

It is said that the medium of language was invented by Homo sapiens to develop social bonds. Neanderthals were apparently capable of using language, but the Homo sapiens community was bigger than the Neanderthals community. Because of that, they were able to thrive and continued to do so until they evolved into the people reading this today. Thanks to the development of technology, the amount of media we have at our fingertips has grown dramatically, and people utilize photos and videos to communicate with each other every day. As we’ve increased the amount of media at our disposal, we’ve also gradually increased the extent of our socialization throughout evolution. It’s probably more prosperous that way, both demographically and economically.

We humans can’t live alone and should lean on someone else when we’re feeling lonely or vulnerable. But it’s clear that we’re all overconnected. It’s more convenient for corporations to receive advertising revenue and big data. Even when we’re alone, we’re encouraged to be connected on social media; that’s the era we live in. There’s loneliness, but not solitude. Where did solitude go? It’s now on the verge of extinction.