Excellent, thought-provoking post, @minismallholding. I appreciate you writing it.
"Are We Losing Touch With Reality?"
Yes, it would appear so, with a growing body of evidence to support that view. At least that might be the reasonable conclusion drawn by those who still have any independent, critical thinking skills functioning ...
"Why are people trying to normalise being alone? I realise we can all want time alone on occasion and it's not a bad thing, but to constantly be alone and have no choice about it isn't exactly a good situation for our mental health."
Not to worry. In the not too distant future, from recent reporting, we'll be able to buy a robot which will be able to hold conversations with us. We'll surely be able to select whatever type of conversation we want to have with them, along with whatever tone we wish to have it conducted.
RE: Are We Losing Touch With Reality?