Let me start by stating I am not a conspiracy theorist (not a massive one), but reading your post reminds me of one too many dystopic futures depicted in so many books and films whereby the general populace is herded like sheep and controlled.
Perhaps everything everything we have seen in the last 10-15 years have been working to this future of isolation. The internet, social media, the threat of domestic and global conflict, reality shows, Covid & the lockdowns.
While this is not the only factor, ever thought how much more a single person spends than a couple or family?
?? Hmm, I don't understand the question in relation to my comment.
To answer that though, If I were in isolation, I would spend a lot less then with my family in isolation. While I can control spending on myself, it's harder to control spending on family. When was the last time you sad no to your daughter but cave after a couple of pleases. Mine was most likely less then a week ago :D
It is all the other costs. A single person pays more for accommodation than a couple. They still have to eat, but smaller portions are more expensive and takeout is probably more common. They will likely have a car but just for them etc. In a half lifetime, it likely adds up. I wonder how much of the housing crisis that some countries are seeing would be eased if there was more cohabitation?
It is only one factor in all of this, but I think that incentives for business is aligned where they will make more money from people isolated than together. Even the Time on Site (ToS) metric is more geared to isolation. When was the last time you sat down with your family and read the online news?
So much of the consumer world today is for individual enjoyment more than shared experience. Even watching Netflix with my wife is more individual than it should be, and after talking to others, people are still checking their phones whilst watching a movie with others.
Totally agree with all your points here. Most of the technological advances have only made us more isolated. That's why lots of people feel more alone because being physically together doesn't equal being mentally together. I have noticed whole families having dinner outside, but no one is talking to each other, everyone is on their phone. That's what the attention economy is all about, an individual's attention. Even Hive is no exception....
There needs to be an active decision to commit your attention to someone else and vice versa. I try to go old school at home. No phones at the dining table (broken more times then I care to admit), no phones when we are playing Nintendo or board games together (again, not always adhered to). Sadly, they are always broken by us, the parents and we only have this kind of disruptive attention technology for half of our lives. I worry about my daughter whereby this kind of technology will be what they grow up with.