Have people forgotten...how to be alone?

Question

I was just wondering what people thought. I've been reading a rather nice book called solitude, a return to the self, by Anthony Starr.

Anyway, the book summarizes different theories on why humankind is so "afraid" of being alone, and tries to express that there really isn’t a physical need for human contact anymore, other than to reproduce, and that perhaps the way we feel this way, is the same reason why we carry characteristics from mom and dad, we needed people to survive back in the 'ol day, humans hunted in packs to deter predators and make it back home for the day.

There any really any physical reasons why humans shouldn't be alone, personally I think that the lack of human contact can help ones state of mine, without society you are free to express yourself for who you are, not what anyone else wants you to be.

So what say you, have humans just forgotten how, and the enjoys of being alone, or have we just never found the joy yet?

Answer 1

It is funny how the answers are often all or nothing. I do think people need human contact. Babies need it to live and I do not believe you grow out of it.
On the other hand time alone is a good thing that many people are afraid to experience, but then again we can't all be Thoreau. Even he was not completely honest about how much time he actually spent alone.
I think it has more to do with personalities than anything thing else.

Answer 2

By nature we humans are social animals, why do you think the
"Hard Time" in prison is solitary confinement.

And I dont think humankind ever enjoyed solitude completely, that's we've come up w/ writing systems and phones and the internet and yes these very message boards, we NEED contact w/ others.

Now people who enjoy complete solitude, certainly dance to another tune, Im not saying they are antisocial killers or the next unabomber (by the way who enjoyed being a hermit) some solitude can be very rewarding to the spirit in the right conditions and in the right mindframe.

Answer 3

We need eachother. That's why you are on answers. Communicating with other people. I'm not saying we all couldn't use a little time out to reflect, that's certainly true. But this society is built so that we depend on eachother. You can't get a car without buying it from someone, you can't fill it with gas without having someone to deliver the gas. Even if you were Amish and didn't believe in electricity or modernization, you would still depend on your family to help harvest the crops and make meals. I don't know where you get "back in the 'ol day" because this civilization was built with families. It started with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. God didn't want Adam to be alone, so he created Eve from his rib. Lack of human contact can make a person very depressed. It is those who reach out and help others and have friends they can depend on that are truly happy. Happiness starts within but you need communication and human contact to cultivate it. Even the apes and the elephants have their complex social structures.

Answer 4

Hmm, ok, first I just wanted to say that this question would have done better justice in probably the sociology or philosophy section, but yeah..ok, whatever. As far as the content of your question goes though..hmm. Good question. I think I'd have to agree with you in the aspect that NOT being around others allows you to be whoever you want to be without fear of reprisal, however, I also believe we NEED human interaction. It is what develops our social skills. There are just certain things you can't learn being shut away by yourself. Kindergarten is a time when young children learn how to interact, socialize, "play nice", learn manners, patience, how to share, how to respect people, ect... which are things they may never have known (or been taught by their parents) until they get to a place where they have to learn to adapt to socialization. These are simply not things you can learn on your own.

Answer 5

I adore my children, so I wouldn't want to be so alone that I never saw them but I have dreamed of alone time for so long. I cannot wait until they are settled and happy just so I might get, hopefully, more than just a glimpse of it.
I mean ALONE, I feel alone when my husband is vegging on the couch. I had my daughters room for about a month and she moved back in, thank God, to re-evaluate her future b4 she ended up married for all the wrong reasons. But that month, going in there and laying down and listening to music and being alone with my thoughts in a room that no one would come in and dictate whether I had to be quiet or in the dark, was beyond words.

Answer 6

I believe society has wrongly taught us that we 'need' other people. The amount of people around us shows our level of popularity, and therefore a shallow measure of our worth. It's not a mesure I agree with, but is so common. I believe that being alone can really be good for someone.

Answer 7

Oh dear God.
You have got it so wrong. I saw a special on the National Geographic Channel about feral children who have been isolated from human contact for long periods of time. NONE of them could fully adjust to human life again.

People NEED companionship, people can't grow without others.

Answer 8

"The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration."

Answer 9

Yes we have...a very needy society we have these days...insecure and clingy...eeks.
Can't love the world and begin to understand another's soul if you haven't spent time alone and tried to begin to understand your own first.....tis a shame. I'm a much nicer person when with others when I've also been able to have my space and alone time.

Answer 10

I'm for two years alone - never used to be like that.
But right now I really enjoy freedom and I'm very happy.
If I want girlfriend only if she live alone separately of me.
For me marriage is rely nothing, nothing and nothing good.
I don't want get any wife in my life.