[bagelwhiteoff]

This is a biased modern American perspective: if you're lonely or have no friends, you're probably depressed because you 'failed' in life.

For me, and many others, loneliness is a blessing that has helped me do things most ignore: exercising, reading about Philosophy, developing ventures,etc. Plus, I'm never 'bounded' to my social circle and have resided in 11 countries.

By the way, I look like an innate salesman. Always smiling, making jokes, building a network, etc. Still, I'd rather be on my own.

[huck_cussler]

I would argue that what you describe as loneliness is not loneliness, but being content to be alone.

[bagelwhiteoff]

I found out that my first language apparently doesn't make a distinction of it. I tried to find synonyms, but none was able to grasp such difference. That's fascinating.

[FilterSweep]

I would agree with you, but [parent] touched on the media, and general American public perception that people simply cannot be content in being alone. Not only that, but they also conflate introversion with preferring solitude (not always true), or even worse, social ineptitude (even rarer).

I've also noticed that some of my friends who did just like being alone ran into most of their grief trying to reconcile this, as opposed to grieving being alone.

[icebraining]

Yeah, not all solitude is lonely.

[ehartsuyker]

> You can be quite content being alone. Loneliness is what happens when you feel socially isolated.

It seems like this was accounted for.