Being alone can be seen as something good or bad, depending on who you ask. Do you think it would be good and thought provoking, or miserable? Imagine you were alone in your house with no one bothering you for a week. How would you take it? On March 22, 2023 Lisa Walsh and Victor Kaufman released an article called “Breaking Stereotypes.” The article states “40% of singles were moderately happy, 36% were somewhat happy, and only 10% were extremely unhappy. Contrary to stereotypes about miserable single people, the majority of singles (54%) were happy.” This statement makes me prefer being alone, because it does not mean I am lonely. It is something I choose.
Following the article “Breaking Stereotypes”, most people who are single or by themselves (about 54%) tend to be pretty content with their lives. This shows that being alone is okay and a lot of people are perfectly okay without people constantly surrounding them. To me, it all depends on what kind of person you are and how social you would like to be. Because if you are a social person it can get lonely. But there are also other ways to stay social without actually leaving your house or talking to others in person, the internet is one way to still feel in the circle without actually being completely in it.
Moreover, being alone can also help you figure yourself out more. When people are surrounded by groups of people, they can tend to feel pressured to be someone they are not. But when you are alone, you are the only one judging yourself. You don’t have to worry about the stress of others around you. If these sorts of things stress you out easily, you could become overwhelmed and do things you would not normally do such as cry in front of others or even get angry. Being alone can help re-calibrate yourself from the stress surrounding you.
Apart from this, some people can also just enjoy the stimulation and satisfaction from the small things in life. In an article made by the company Medium and written by Avi, it states “Their dopamine receptors don’t require too much stimulation. They can get happy with or through little things. They might get easily overwhelmed in over-stimulating environments.” This shows that it really depends on the person, because everyone’s dopamine levels are different. So some might have higher levels of dopamine and require more excitement from things that they enjoy, which may be more extreme activities that involve others. Maybe parties are something that makes someone feel more fulfilled, then they would not be the type of person to want to be alone.
In summary, it is okay to be alone. It is not looked down upon by society as a whole, in fact a majority of people prefer it. It all depends on the person and what they prefer though, but it is beneficial to decompress sometimes. But all in all, it is also based on the person’s dopamine levels and what kind of things gets that person to the feeling of contentment. Everyone has their own ideas of what will make them feel content, some ideas consist of social events, while others prefer to stay in the comfort of their own home.
In conclusion, being alone can be good for you and it should not be something to be looked down upon. Some others just find it to be stressful to constantly be around people and that is perfectly okay. Everyone is different. But what kind of person are you? Do you prefer to be alone or with others all the time?
For more info: Breaking Stereotype Medium
