The Ethics of Solitude - vs Group and Shared Everything

I have subscribed to the Ethics Newsline for a while now - ever since I started teaching the IB ITGS course a few years ago. Often I merely skim their regular updates, but this time I was intrigued by the title of one of their posts. The Ethics of Solitude.

In a world where everything seems social, from the peer pressure "need" to be on FaceBook and Twitter, to be on Tumblr, LinkedIn or whatever. Everywhere we seem to be challenged to be "social" in our use of technology. Maybe this is a reaction to the often heard comment that technology makes people less social - they have less need for community because they can "commune" at a distance now. In fact, a report I heard yesterday on radio news stated that online dating was now second most common way to meet a love interest - behind being introduced by a mutual friend.

So - I read the Ethics of Solitude. It's worth a read. The world is not made up of clones. Everyone will have a different perspective. At a time where we do seem to spend a lot of time on sharing and teamwork - and they are important - there is a place for solitude.

Enjoy the read.