Being alone does not equate to loneliness.

> his whole social world had shrunk down to one person. His wife.

I live alone, in the boonies. I don't even have a wife any more (divorce), and I email. I text. I get some responses, and the thread dries up. I always have coffee by myself, mainly because I live 50 miles from a city big enough to have a Wallgreens.

Presence is everything. People won't drive the 50 miles, and I offer coffee, homemade baked ziti, free entry to Yosemite, and Armagnac after dinner.

(rant deleted)

> They reach out first.

They nag.

When I am president, I will ban couches, so people can get out, enjoy nature and meet real people. Might as well phone people in The Matrix. With my luck Neo would hang up.