Company, I Don’t Need It

GQ posted an article this week on the virtues of being alone inspired by Zedd’s latest single Good Thing. If you can get past the author’s ten dollar words (I had to Google anodyne), it’s kinda a depressing read.

Turns out that 46% of all Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone. The author argues that “loneliness has become an epidemic predicated on our habits,” not just social media but also stress, shyness, lack of hobbies, and a general trend toward a distributed workforce that keeps us isolated, oftentimes unintentionally.

Good Thing preaches the value of solitude not as a way to detach from the world but as a way to connect to yourself.

Self-care and acceptance aren’t all about being the best person you can, but also about embracing yourself at your worst or most vulnerable or egotistical.

Introvert or extrovert, spending time by yourself “reminds us that human beings, for all our nastiness and cruelty, require social interaction in order to live full and healthy lives.”