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Over the past few years, experts have been sounding the alarm over how much time Americans spend alone. Statistics show that were choosing to be solitary for more of our waking hours than ever before, tucked away at home rather than mingling in public. Increasing numbers of us are dining alone and traveling solo, and rates of living alone have nearly doubled in the past 50 years. These trends coincided with the surgeon generals 2023 declaration of a loneliness epidemic, leading to recent claims that the U.S. is living in an anti-social century. Loneliness and isolation are indeed social problems that warrant serious attention, especially since chronic states of loneliness are linked with poor outcomes such as depression and a shortened life span. But there is another side to this story, one that deserves a closer look. For some people, the shift toward aloneness represents a desire for what researchers call positive solitude, a state that is associated with well-being, not loneliness. As a psychologist, Ive spent the past decade researching why people like to be aloneand spending a fair amount of time there myselfso Im deeply familiar with the joys of solitude. My findings join a host of others that have documented a long list of benefits gained when we choose to spend time by ourselves, ranging from opportunities to recharge our batteries and experience personal growth to making time to connect with our emotions and our creativity. So it makes sense to me why people live alone as soon as their financial circumstances allow, and when asked why they prefer to dine solo, people say simply, I want more me time. Its also why Im not surprised that a 2024 national survey found that 56% of Americans considered alone time essential for their mental health. Or that Costco is now selling solitude sheds where for around $2,000 you can buy yourself some peace and quiet. Its clear there is a desire, and a market, for solitude right now in American culture. But why does this side of the story often get lost amid the warnings about social isolation? I suspect it has to do with a collective anxiety about being alone. The stigma of solitude This anxiety stems in large part from our cultures deficit view of solitude. In this type of thinking, the desire to be alone is seen as unnatural and unhealthy, something to be pitied or feared rather than valued or encouraged. This isnt just my own observation. A study published in February 2025 found that U.S. news headlines are 10 times more likely to frame being alone negatively than positively. This type of bias shapes peoples beliefs, with studies showing that adults and children alike have clear judgments about when it isand, importantly, when it is notacceptable for their peers to be alone. This makes sense given that American culture holds up extroversion as the ideal, indeed as the basis for whats normal. The hallmarks of extraversion include being sociable and assertive, as well as expressing more positive emotions and seeking more stimulation than the opposite personalitythe more reserved and risk-averse introverts. Even though not all Americans are extroverts, most of us have been conditioned to cultivate that trait, and those who do reap social and professional rewards. In this cultural milieu, preferring to be alone carries stigma. But the desire for solitude is not pathological, and its not just for introverts. Nor does it automatically spell social isolation and a lonely life. In fact, the data doesnt fully support current fears of a loneliness epidemic, something scholars and journalists have recently acknowledged. In other words, although Americans are indeed spending more time alone than previous generations did, its not clear that we are actually getting lonelier. And despite our fears for the eldest members of our society, research shows that older adults are happier in solitude than the loneliness narrative would lead us to believe. Social media disrupts our solitude However, solitudes benefits dont automatically appear whenever we take a break from the social world. They arrive when we are truly alonewhen we intentionally carve out the time and space to connect with ourselvesnot when we are alone on our devices. My research has found that solitudes positive effects on well-being are far less likely to materialize if the majority of our alone time is spent staring at our screens, especially when were passively scrolling social media. This is where I believe the collective anxiety is well placed, especially the focus on young adults who are increasingly forgoing face-to-face social interaction in favor of a virtual life, and who may face significant distress as a result. Social media is by definition social. Its in the name. We cannot be truly alone when were on it. Whats more, its not the type of nourishing me time I suspect many people are longing for. True solitudeturns attention inward. Its a time to slow down and reflect. A time to do as we please, not to please anyone else. A time to be emotionally available to ourselves, rather than to others. When we spend our solitude in these ways, the benefits accrue: We feel rested and rejuvenated, we gain clarity and emotional balance, we feel freer and more connected to ourselves. But if were addicted to being busy, it can be hard to slow down. If were used to looking at a screen, it can be scary to look inside. And if we dont have the skills to validate being alone as a normal and healthy human need, then we waste our alone time feeling guilty, weird, or selfish. The importance of reframing solitude Americans choosing to spend more time alone is indeed a challenge to the cultural script, and the stigmatization of solitude can be difficult to change. Nevertheless, a small but growing body of research indicates that it is possible, and effective, to reframe the way we think about solitude. For example, viewing solitude as a beneficial experience rather than a lonely one has been shown to help alleviate negative feelings about being alone, even for the participants who were severely lonely. People who perceive their time alone as full rather than empty are more likely to experience their alone time as meaningful, using it for growth-oriented purposes such as self-reflection or spiritual connection. Even something as simple as a linguistic shiftreplacing isolation with me timecauses people to view their alone time more positively and likely affects how their friends and family view it as well. It is true that if we dont have a community of close relationships to return to after being alone, solitude can lead to social isolation. But its also true that too much social interaction is taxing, and such overload negatively affects the quality of our relationships. The countrys recent gravitational pull toward more alone time may partially reflect a desire for more balance in a life that is too busy, too scheduled, and, yes, too social. Just as connection with others is essential for our well-being, so is connection with ourselves. Virginia Thomas is an assistant professor of psychology at Middlebury. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Smartphone cameras are still getting bigger and better by the year, particularly if you look at high-end phones coming out of China with huge sensors and protruding bumps to match. These phones can deliver awesome results, and Im happy to use them in several situations where I would previously have had to rely on a dedicated camera. Just this week I used the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to shoot a Formula One event in Tokyo. But for all the advances that have been made, the laws of physics remain undefeated, and youre still going to get better results from a camera setup thats able to make use of larger lenses and sensors. Phones do need to be able to fit into our pockets, after all, so theres a limit to what can be achieved in that regard. At Mobile World Congress this year, some concept announcements showed that companies are thinking about this reality, coming up with ideas to move mobile photography beyond the constraints of the phone. The question is whether peripheral camera products can ever really be more than a niche curiosity. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Xiaomis concept is called the Modular Optical System, and it involves self-contained camera modules that magnetically and wirelessly attach to your phone. While the company doesn’t have concrete plans to sell them commercially, working models do exist I used one. The demonstration unit had a Micro Four Thirds-size sensor with a 17.5mm f/1.4 lens, which comes out to 35mm-equivalent when accounting for the sensors crop factor. It could attach to a Xiaomi 15 phone that had been outfitted with magnets and a window for laser data transfer but otherwise looked normal. The connection felt very secure, and there wasnt any need to fiddle with Bluetooth pairing or any special software once connected, the feed from the camera simply appears in the regular camera app. You can focus the lens by turning its ring or tapping the phones screen. Because the camera mounts to the middle of the phone, the resulting combination feels well-balanced and similar to a regular mirrorless camera. It did make me wish the phone had a dedicated shutter button on the edge, though; using the touchscreen with your hands in that position takes some getting used to. The results, at least as far as I could tell on the phone screen, were excellent. Micro Four Thirds is one of the smaller mirrorless formats, but its still a huge leap over even the 1-inch sensors found in the highest end phone cameras, and pairing one with a fast 35mm-equivalent lens makes for a really useful combination. I was taking pictures of friends in a dark restaurant that clearly could not have been captured on a phone. Realme, a sister brand to Oppo, took another approach. Its Ultra concept phone has a couple of traditional smartphone cameras as well as a third 1-inch sensor thats exposed behind the glass; you can attach a Leica M-mount adapter and a lens of your choice to use with that sensor. This feels somewhat less useful in practice. Theres no electrical connection between the lens and the phone, so adjusting the aperture ring isnt going to be reflected in software; the experience is more like adapting a manual lens to a digital camera. M-mount lenses are all manual focus, however, so there isnt a need for anything like the touchscreen AF solution like Xiaomi came up with. But the sensors 2.7x crop factor means that actual Leica M lenses will have a zoomed-in field of view even a wide-angle 28mm becomes a 75mm-equivalent portrait lens. These arent necessarily new ideas. Realmes is very similar to a Leica M-mount concept Xiaomi put out a few years ago, while Xiaomis own idea of wireless camera modules has been tried before. And Sony made a go of it in 2013 with the quirky QX line, a range of all-in-one cameras that connected over Wi-Fi and clipped onto the back of your phone; one model even featured an APS-C sensor and could work with any E-mount mirrorless lens. Olympus tried something similar in 2014 with the Air A01, a wireless Micro Four Thirds sensor and mount. There have been two big problems with these kinds of products in the past. The first was that they were a hassle to use, forcing you to deal with attachment mechanisms, wireless pairing, and slow connectivity. The appeal of mobile photography is its convenience, and these detracted from that. The second, arguably bigger hurdle is simply that they were separate devices that you had to carry alongside your phone. Thats a big ask for most people. Sonys QX100 had the same sensor and lens as its excellent RX100 compact camera, but it cost almost as much why not just carry the actual camera instead? Sony discontinued the QX line pretty quickly, suggesting it didnt take off with consumers. Things could be different today Xiaomis magnetic mount solution is certainly more convenient but its still hard to see the idea becoming mainstream. Personally, I would be interested in buying something like the Xiaomi concept I used. Id still have several questions, like how much itd cost and how long the magnetic mount would be supported on future handsets, but even in prototype form the idea worked well enough that I could see the extra lens being worth tossing into a tote bag. But for most people, my sense is that it will still be worth paying more attention to built-in phone camera quality for the foreseeable future. Thats the camera youll actually find yourself using. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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Of all the modern parenting paradoxes, navigating screen time usage might be one of the most complexand divisive. Critics of screen time claim it can negatively impact social skills, behavior, and sleep. Proponents say it can help kids learn about living in a digital world, improve cultural awareness, and serve as a means of communication. Parents say sometimes they just need a break. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the messy middle of it all; like so many aspects of parenting, its all about finding the balance thats right for you and your child(ren). Screen time is just one of many topics explored in Poems of Parenting, a new collection of poetry out April 8 from author and artist Loryn Brantz, a consulting creative director for the beloved kids educational program Ms. Rachel who has won two Emmy Awards for her work on Sesame Street. The mom of two children (one of whom has a disability) offers short, snappy, honest, and often irreverent reflections on everything from trimming tiny fingernails to watching war and famine play out on TV. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/Two-Truths-single.png","headline":"Two Truths","description":"A newsletter that explores the many truths of motherhood through news round-ups, trend reports, and expert-backed deep dives on topics that matter to moms. To learn more visit twotruths.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/twotruths.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Its exactly the type of content moms need in todays world. So what about screen time? Here, Brantz shares some insight behind her poem on itplus, an important and powerful reminder that applies to many aspects of parenthood. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Loryn Brantz (@lorynbrantz) Youve worked on two beloved kids shows and youve struggled with navigating screen time for your own kids. What insights can you offer parents trying to find the right balance? It comes down to what works best for your family. I would never say, This or that is the right thing to do, because it never accounts for kids with disabilities who may rely more on screen time than others for various reasons. That said, I believe there is such a thing as quality screen time, and I would encourage people to be cognizant of what they put on. Also, when possible, co-watching together, asking questions, or interacting while watching the show is ideal. In our household, there was a lot of pressure to pack in as much early intervention therapy as we could during the first years of my daughters life because of all her developmental delays, so we were very strict with screen time. She was only allowed an hour or so per day in tandem with physical therapy, or as much as needed to distract from medical treatments. It was as stressful as it sounds. Now shes older (and doing amazingly), and her neurotypical little-potato brother watches with her, and were not worried about it at all. Sometimes, after a long day of work and school, spending time on the couch cuddling and watching a movie can be the best thing for everyone. I often think, Wow, I can’t believe I popped these sweet little people out of my body, and now they’re watching TV with me! Life is pretty magical, isn’t it? Every kid is different, and every kids needs are different. How has your work in kids educational programming influenced your own parenting style and strategies? When I was working on Sesame Street at the Jim Henson Co., it was well before I had my own children and I was mostly tapping into my own inner child as far as things I enjoy including The Muppets, Disney World, and picture books. I was making what I enjoy. I figured thats also what a kid would enjoy, too. Nowadays, with my work for Ms. Rachel, I have learned an extraordinary amount about childhood development, not only from the show but through my own experience with early intervention (EI) for my daughter. EI works best when the parent takes on what they learn during sessions and incorporates it into their childrens day-to-day lives. I more or less became a full-time speech, occupational, physical, and special-instruction therapist for the first three years of her life. So now, my work comes from not only a place of genuinely enjoying childrens media, but also thinking about what I would want my own childrenand really, all childrento be watching. Childrens media is so important and needs to be treated as such. Youve said you feel like youve been working toward Poems of Parenting your whole life. Its been quite a journey. This will essentially be my 12th book. So many things set it apart. For one, its the first book that feels like it has a real energy behind it from readers. When I started writing these poems, I immediately began getting messages like, When is the book coming out? or Will you be making a book? And I was just blown away because no one had ever asked me for a book before. Its just a dream come true. . . . After over a decade of pushing and pushing to get books made and in front of people, having people come to me asking for a book is a real pinch-me moment. After starting this book, I also decided it was finally time to take the leap to being a full-time artist and writer, primarily for my own projectswhich has been a lifelong goal. Read more with Loryn Brantz on Two Truths. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/Two-Truths-single.png","headline":"Two Truths","description":"A newsletter that explores the many truths of motherhood through news round-ups, trend reports, and expert-backed deep dives on topics that matter to moms. To learn more visit twotruths.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/twotruths.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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