Only 2 days after writing my last little thesis on loneliness, I ran across this highly relevant article about renting friends by the hour. While that idea's pretty creepy and ultimately stupid (No matter how desperate you are, why pay for companionship when you can find it for free on Craigslist?) the article had all sorts of interesting things to say about being lonely, most of which were things that I was going to say the next time I decided to write about the subject, which I guess is now.
They say that loneliness is a feedback loop. Yes, just when I'm feeling the most unhappy with my own company, that's when it's hardest to seek out the company of others.
They say that looking for comfort in online interaction is like "eating celery: 'It’s better than nothing, but there’s no long-term sustenance.'" And yes, I was going to say that I I think having so many online friends actually contributes to my loneliness. Hardly a day goes by that I don't spend a good portion of my time chatting through the internet. I'm hardly isolated from the world, but having all these people to chat with sometimes prevents me from actually trying to be around them. Conversation is great, but sometimes you just need a warm body in your general vicinity--and by "warm body," I mean something other than a nicely heated CPU.
What I wasn't going to say, however – which the article does – is that loneliness is contagious. Oops. Just by blogging about it, it looks like I have infected my entire readership. Sorry, guys, I'll pause while you weep silently in a corner.
...
Pity party over? OK, we'll move on.
The article also didn't quote Britney Spears, which I was most definitely going to do. But oh, no! It's time to go to work! We'll have to continue this discussion another time!
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