For science, learning to go out on your own is a great idea.

Being alone is often seen as sad or hopeless, when in fact it is not so. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said that if someone is bored when alone, it must be a terrible company. This may not always make sense - in some situations people are afraid of loneliness because they fear what others may think of it.

Time magazine published an article written by Starre Vartan. In the text, she addresses the scientific benefits of being alone - yes, there are benefits, you can celebrate. It's nice to understand that Vartan doesn't just talk about being alone in the sense of not being in a love relationship - she says she's been dating for years.

In fact, the issue addressed by Vartan has more to do with getting things done without company. Have you, for example, ever passed a coffee shop and gone in for a cake that caught your eye and had coffee without any company?

Vartan, who lives in San Francisco, says she has a habit of eating and drinking on her own and has noticed that women in particular seem to be more afraid of these experiences.

Who spoke about it was Professor Rebecca Ratner in an interview with the Washington Post. According to her, most people stop doing things they would like simply because they don't always have company. "But the thing is, these people would probably be happier going out and doing something, " he explains.

A publication in the Science of Us section of New York magazine mentioned Ratner's studies, which recently published an article in partnership with Rebecca Hamilton. In the text, our biggest fear is exposed when it comes to doing activities without company: it seems that we fear the judgment of strangers who may think we are doing something without company because we are unable to have friends.

To test this theory, the researchers had the help of college students. Some of them visited an art exhibition in groups, and others were invited to make the same visit, but without anyone's company.

The results showed that everyone enjoyed the exposure in the same way, which led the researchers to conclude that those who “avoid doing hedonic activities (those we do for fun alone) are missing opportunities to experience pleasurable experiences”.

The authors advise us to do activities without the company of anyone. They explain that for those who feel more insecure, it is good to have a book in hand if the place chosen is a coffee shop. In addition, they encourage us to seek information about the number of people in the place - some feel even more uncomfortable if the place is full.

Researchers now hope to assess whether people in a group really judge who is alone, and if so, how we can learn to deal with it. A simple tip is to imagine that you may actually be afraid of what people you don't even know and probably won't see again are thinking about you. Is their opinion really so important?

"When you compare an experience that is very similar with or without someone else, such as visiting a gallery or going to the movies, you find little difference in satisfaction." That is: if nobody wants to go with you to watch that movie, go anyway. This increases self-confidence and, if it is intended, can be a good way to meet new people.

Researchers make it clear that the purpose is not to make people stop going out with friends to go out on their own. In fact, the idea is to show that when you are alone and willing to do something, lack of company should not be a hindrance. So what do you think about going out alone? Tell us in the comments!

* Posted on 12/2/2017