The great withdrawal: Working from home, ordering in instead of eating out and socialising via smartphone – are we even living?

With the rise of smartphones and on-demand TV, the change of lifestyle enforced by Covid and the celebration of hygge, many of us have got comfortable hiding away. But as French philosopher Pascal Bruckner argues in his new book, it is time we re-emerge

​Smartphones can make us feel connected while allowing us to remain isolated, avoiding real interaction in the world outside. Photo: Getty Images

Suzanne Harrington

Home has always been the place of liberating prepositions — bra off, contact lenses out, loungewear on, feet up. Kettle on, emails off, power down. A place of slippers, soft clothing, sofas, cushions, comfort. No distractions, obligations, interruptions. Just you in your lovely nest of hygge and that glorious feeling of not having to go out again, or do anything except cocoon in your bubble of bliss. The indoor peace a contrast to the relentlessness of the outside world.

Then lockdown happened, and cocooning in your bubble took on a whole other meaning. Overnight, all the heavenly hygge became house arrest, as the inside and outside worlds blurred and merged. Compulsory confinement — Ireland had some of the longest, most stringent restrictions in the EU — changed how we interacted with the outside world, even as the pandemic faded from our minds.