Attention Starvation Is Real For Singles
For anyone who has ever felt invisible.
Welcome to Cheaper Than Therapy, a newsletter by Shani Silver.
We’ve all sent a text we’ve regretted. We’ve all flirted with someone we weren’t attracted to. We’ve all interjected into the conversations of strangers in an attempt to save ourselves from more silence. When you’re single, particularly as you age, attention starvation is real. This isn’t loneliness, this isn’t shyness, this is a complete void of being noticed by other human beings, sometimes to the point where you wonder if you still are one yourself.
Sometimes as singles, we are starving. There is a difference between wanting something and going without it, and consecutive years of feeling that way. Starvation for single people can come in a variety of formats. We can feel hungry for physical contact, shut out of the disposable income those splitting rent can enjoy, but here specifically I want to talk about a scenario where single people are starved for actual interaction. If you’ve ever wanted someone to remember you, text you, or just fucking notice you, this is yours.