“The best time of the day is when I get home, sit down with a plate of food and a glass of wine, put a movie on, and enjoy my little nest,” trader Vaso Vrasida tells To Vima. She has come to associate peace and contentment primarily with solitude. Is she the only one? “Isolation” at home may have peaked during the pandemic, but it didn’t start with lockdown and it hasn’t gone away since. “
Almost every part of our lives now seems to take place at home,” says Patrick Sharkey, Professor of Sociology at Princeton, who recently published research based on US data which showed that the shift towards introversion began before COVID-19, with the biggest changes occurring among the young. In 2019, 15-24 year-olds stayed at home for 57 minutes more per day than they had done in 2003; in 2022, the additional home-time had soared to 124 minutes.
The professor makes a crucial observation: for every additional hour at home, we spend 7.4 minutes with our family and 21 minutes alone! Technological developments and changes to our habits brought about by COVID-19 are making our everyday lives more isolated and home-focused. It’s as if the public sphere is moving into our private space.
The new architecture of introversion
The new reality seems to be doing away with the large rooms required for dinners, parties and social gatherings. In the US, the frequency of social gatherings at home fell by 45% in the late 1990s and has plummeted a further 32% since 2000. Dining rooms with large tables are being replaced by rooms with large… screens. Home cinemas are now the focal point, along with spaces for exercise or play (play rooms, gyms and, in extreme cases, swimming pools). “Architecture is influenced enormously by society and technology.
You can now have everything in our homes: it’s all available on demand on your mobile—whether it be a personal trainer, cinema, or food. There is a tendency for everything to become more introverted,” says architect Margarita Lebidaki. “Architecture per se does not serve isolation,” adds her colleague George Nikopoulos. “It serves various programs which, for the most part, stem from social conditions.
At present, the social conditions are moving towards less together and more alone.” Alone on holiday, too? “I often go on holiday alone” says private employee Ariadne Markopoulou. “It’s nice because it’s quiet. It’s just you, your thoughts, nature, the sound of the sea, the waves, the breeze—everything has a different intensity. They make more of an impression on you without, say, the intrusion of a conversation.”
Almost every part of our lives now seems to take place at home
Eating alone, glued to a screen
“If you go to a supermarket just before closing time and snoop on the shoppers’ baskets, it’s easy to spot the people who are going to be eating alone. A ready-made salad or TV dinner, often a small bottle of wine,” Mrs. Vrasida notes. Do as she suggests, and you’ll quickly see she’s right. No wonder, since Greeks now spend over 500 million Euros a year on ready meals.
At the same time, food delivery is gaining ground, as a study by the Institute of Retail Consumer Goods Research (IELKA) confirms. On the other hand, it’s becoming increasingly common to see people eating out alone – it’s not just tourists anymore. It would seem our relationship with food is changing. First of all, we’re cooking less. “You appreciate a dish you’ve worked hard to prepare and share more than one you bought ready-cooked.
The food in the second case satisfies your hunger or your greed—nothing more,” chef Manolis Papoutsakis told To Vima. What about changes to the way we eat? “We eat alone, but we also do other things at the same time now,” Mr. Papoutsakis adds. “We usually scroll on our mobile phones, or watch TV. Food is no longer associated with sociability. Personally, I find the antidote is to cook something simple for 5-6 friends. Then invite them round and spend a lovely evening chatting. Now we’re eating together socially, not just to fill ourselves up.”
Cinema on your couch
Introversion isn’t just a personality trait—it may also have financial roots. “Going out for a drink? We can’t afford three cocktails anymore, so our nights out are limited,” says Ariadne Markopoulou. But cost isn’t the only factor. Technology has shifted many social activities from the outside world into the home—especially for kids and teens.
“My 12-year-old son plays with his friend on a gaming platform. They’re each in their rooms, chatting through their laptops,” says teacher Maria Panagiotou. “It saves a lot of time commuting back and forth.”
Another casualty of this shift: the movie theater. Indoor cinemas, especially in winter, never fully bounced back after the financial blow of the pandemic. Outdoor summer theaters, on the other hand—where audiences can enjoy a film under the stars with snacks and drinks—have managed to stay culturally relevant.
The traditional allure of the darkened room and the big screen has largely given way to the ease of streaming platforms, which deliver films and series straight to our couches and beds. “I think the reason so many more series are being produced for streaming services is because of the lockdown,” Markopoulou notes. She often watches shows on her laptop. “Episodes are usually an hour long—if you’re tired, sitting through a two-hour movie isn’t easy. I still go to the theater occasionally, but only for a film I really want to see. I don’t have a home cinema.”
