A praise of proud loners

Apparently the nasty, devious internet AD 2015 is still killing socialising and making more and more people more and more isolated, says yet another research in a very concerned tone.

Well. (As it is not clear in type - it is a rather sarcastic 'well' with a prolonged 'e' sound.)

Here's an idea - we are a first generation that can choose being on one's own as a viable living option. And another generation is hitting an age of  making this choice as well. Or not, as it is a choice.
  
For centuries and millennia human monkeys used to huddle for warmth, safety, comfort and not necessarily out of preference for constant physical company of one another. Lack of living space would also be an issue and cultural and financial constraints. Not any more (I'm going to focus on developed countries here, as these are the ones where terrible digital loneliness is trying to consume us, doomsayer simon says).

I think there's more people who like and choose to not spend their every waking moment crushed amongst random others' body heat, odours and monkey chatter than it was previously noted. It used to be impossible to step away from the crowd if you lived in a crowd, worked physically in a crowd and relaxed in a crowd. Now, it is possible. You close the door and leave the crowd of random others outside.

An yet, when was the last time you felt like you're truly alone, between your bleeping mobile, pinging facebook, chirruping email, plonking Skype, plurping calendar reminders and, last but not least, actual phone ringing? As you juggle work people requests, family duties, friends needs and organising this once a week physical meet up and drink up on a Thursday, why does it matter that most of it is dealt with via a device these days? Just like kids growing up with touch screens right now will expect every flat display surface to respond to their touch, I understand someone working from home and communicating with friends/family/work colleagues mostly via social media, mobile and blog and somehow NOT feeling terribly isolated. 

Ans so I remain sceptical when I hear about such one sided research, because where is the study of how many people died early of stress induced heart failure after a life time of constant presence of others in their somewhat larger than average personal space in the past hundred years? How many people liked it when their spouse stayed at work later to finally have that evening  to themselves in the past fifty years? How many in the whole of human monkey history would be simply jealous to hear of a future in which you can live on your own and still be surrounded by digital shadows of the people you choose to stay in touch with?

And every so often even you, the proud loner, gather these shadows closer and go see them because there is a little bit of chattering, huddling monkey left in each of us, that the devious internet will never conquer.