Post by marcmanheim on Aug 8, 2011 14:30:20 GMT -5
Since the dawn of our existence, we humans have always been very social creatures. This is not only because we enjoyed the company as such, but also that many aspects of our survival hinged on our ability to communicate and work with those around us. Logically, one who undergoes a task alone will find the task more difficult than he would if he got a friend to help. It is likely because of this that we have grown more and more use to being around others for longer periods of time. The most important reason for the coming of the end of solitude is globalization. Over the course of many thousands of years, humanity went from being spread across the globe as small tribes to tightly connected, unified nations. Because of our inbred enjoyment of being with others, it makes sense that we have done it more and more often as communication over a distance becomes easier and more advanced.
While I very much understand, and (too a large extent) agree with what is being said, It should still be noted that solitude has not completely left our society. In fact, it’s still relatively abundant; we just tend not to notice it. Take myself as an example. While I may look at Facebook often to see what’s what and go hang with friends when I get a chance, I still spend a greater portion of the week alone and enjoy that time just as much as I enjoy being with friends. If I couldn’t be by myself at least from time to time, I probably would have gone Insane a long time ago. It is also worth saying that not everyone is a social addict like the author was referring to. There are many in today’s society which are deemed “antisocial” just because they don’t communicate with a person for every waking minuet of the day. I wonder if the lifestyle of one of these individuals would not have been considered outgoing and flamboyant by the standards of civilization a few hundred years ago.
So is solitude truly ending? Will there be a time in the near future where the individual will not be able to stand alone without going into a state of panic? The answer is no. While it is true that even the least social of us spend a larger portion of our time being or communication with others, there will always be times when we are well and truly alone whether that be relaxing on the couch, playing video games, walking to a destination, or writing about an article you read for an AP Lang class. Because of our human nature, solitude might very well grow less and less prominent as time goes on, but it will never truly end.
While I very much understand, and (too a large extent) agree with what is being said, It should still be noted that solitude has not completely left our society. In fact, it’s still relatively abundant; we just tend not to notice it. Take myself as an example. While I may look at Facebook often to see what’s what and go hang with friends when I get a chance, I still spend a greater portion of the week alone and enjoy that time just as much as I enjoy being with friends. If I couldn’t be by myself at least from time to time, I probably would have gone Insane a long time ago. It is also worth saying that not everyone is a social addict like the author was referring to. There are many in today’s society which are deemed “antisocial” just because they don’t communicate with a person for every waking minuet of the day. I wonder if the lifestyle of one of these individuals would not have been considered outgoing and flamboyant by the standards of civilization a few hundred years ago.
So is solitude truly ending? Will there be a time in the near future where the individual will not be able to stand alone without going into a state of panic? The answer is no. While it is true that even the least social of us spend a larger portion of our time being or communication with others, there will always be times when we are well and truly alone whether that be relaxing on the couch, playing video games, walking to a destination, or writing about an article you read for an AP Lang class. Because of our human nature, solitude might very well grow less and less prominent as time goes on, but it will never truly end.