Americans Are Increasingly Alone, but Are They Lonely?

The reason Americans are alone is because they want to be. Always makes me laugh when people overcomplicate the reasons and purported solutions. As if 350m people desperately wanted to hang out with each other but just can't. They don't want to!

Or more specifically, they may desire to in an abstract sense, but their revealed preference is to do almost anything else before hosting a dinner party or what have you.

But what if someone wants to be alone, and who relishes solitude?

I am one of those people who prefers solitude. I can be entirely by myself for days or weeks on end with zero issue, but can feel immensely lonely in a crowd.

Even spending time with others is problematic. I can be at a party or a get-together and be very social and talkative, but after an hour I get psychologically “itchy” and have an overwhelming desire to leave and return to my own private space. Sometimes the only “socialization” I need is to people-watch for a half hour or so, and that hits me only a few times a year.

George Carlin said it best when he described liking people, but only in small doses. That aligns pretty much with how I feel.