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There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be a Hermit
Modern life allows me to avoid almost everything outside my front door. I am still deciding whether this is freedom, or a very comfortable prison.
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There has never been a better time to be a hermit.
I can work, shop, socialise, watch films, publish articles and communicate with thousands of people without putting on my shoes.
On a particularly successful day, I can avoid trousers until lunchtime.
If I become bored with Britain, I can put on a virtual-reality headset and wander around Japan. I can explore Tokyo, visit a temple and walk through a tiny village in the mountains, all without needing a passport or spending eleven hours folded into a seat designed by somebody whose knowledge of human anatomy came from a cereal box.
Previous generations of hermits had to live in caves and survive on berries. I have central heating, home delivery and Netflix.
This is progress.
I should explain that I have always been an introvert. I did not spend my youth dancing on tables before suffering some terrible disappointment and withdrawing from society. Even in my early twenties, friends usually had to badger me into going to the pub. I…
