If you go somewhere alone, say, a restaurant, that’s an ostensible bad vibe, plus you’re taking up valuable real estate and time, when you could iNvItE your bUdDiEs and make it more worth the restaurant’s while, so ‘fun’-based companies have all been subliminally forcing us for 100+ years to only consume their products with people around us – think the smiling people in those Olive Garden ads.
And I’m not saying it’s not fun to do these things with people, of course it is, I’d agree that it’s even more fun. But it’s not necessarily accessible or practical for everyone all the time. We should be able to enjoy the same pleasures of the world, the same excesses of capitalism, chef-cooked lunch from the Mediterranean for $10 in iowa at 10am, roller coasters, beach resorts, etc, without feeling shitty and weird for not having someone by our side. Same thing with the pressure to start a family as well. Sure, it’s a natural impulse, but it’s been hijacked by the ever-growing greed of capital.
It’s so insidious it’s insane. Marketing is scumwork for scumlords. They create empty spaces of desire we’re magnetized to fill. I’m sure there’s a way to think yourself out of this, but it’s hard and I have no idea where to start on that mountain and I think meditation is sort of bullshit (especially if you have autism [hi]).
I tried to buy season tickets for myself for our local baseball team and the guy was like ‘you can invite a friend if you want as well!’ and like yeah no shit, maybe I want to go alone and relax? Can I simply have that freedom without being nudged to constantly perform my own emotional labor to give them more revenue? Please? God?
Sounds like you’re letting ads get to you and need to reduce that intake. Not always easy, but a pihole, ad blockers, and occasionally paying for a premium version of a service you use a lot can go a long way. What ads tell you to do or think is not what most people expect of you, its just corporate greed personified.
I spent years going out by myself, and never got the impression anyone cared what I was doing. It’s freeing in a way. I’m on my own schedule, doing what I want when I want. If I decide I’m not enjoying myself I just leave. No big deal. It can be an opportunity to meet others sometimes, and other times I might sit at the bar and end up reading a book. If I go to a concert by myself I don’t need to worry about losing or finding my group, and it’s easier to find a spot with a good view. There’s just as many positives to going out alone as going out with a group.
Finally, baseball tickets - what they probably meant is that your season tickets let you bring a friend with you for free. Some places do this because they’ll still get revenue from food and drink sales, but it’s pretty cool. I wish concerts or other venues did that.