Why solitude is the “new aspiration”
Making friends and influencing people? Well, yes to the second part.
The BBC, Aug. 1 reports: “Solitude as a new aspirational lifestyle: ‘We are not lonely,” exploring the “rise of solo living influencers” who post videos of their daily, single-life routines like skincare rituals, ordering takeout, spontaneous road trips, and so on.
The most popular solonistas (a word I just made up) rake in millions of likes, hundreds of thousands of followers, and enough advertising money to make this a full-time job. As one influencer explains:
“Being alone is where I feel my most free and most like myself… I think it’s something that should be celebrated.”
Increasingly, it is. Our August 2026 Socionomist report “All By Myself, Just Wanna Be… All By Myself” reveals that, in the year 2026, “being single and alone is less of a problem and more of a preference.”
Our report explains what the growing shift toward solitude says of the broader picture in social mood, and why for better or worse, we’re ALL in this together.
Read the full report today, along with the complete August Socionomist.