How To Be Alone

It's totally ironic that someone felt the need to post a Youtube self-help video on the art of being alone. The abundance of social networking sites is bombarding us with the notion that something is wrong with us if we are alone. Moments of silence are now a source of anxiety. What's wrong with me? No one's listening to me! Twitter banks on this imperative to connect with others.

Consider this video:



This video suggests that we have a deep need to connect with strangers, finally made possible by various web 2.0 technologies. But what we should consider is the way in which this form of interaction, and its ubiquity and ease, makes it more difficult to be content when alone. Is web 2.0 making it more difficult to like ourselves intrinsically, because we need extrinsic verification of our worthiness for being liked.

Yes, we need to learn to how to cherish ourselves first of all. Only then can we make meaningful relationships in the real world and online.