Is isolation the new connection?
“In a generation where communication is garbage, I chose to escape it,” Carter Ace admits during a small talk we had about his latest single “, Little Bit of Conversation”. His words shed light on an aspect often underrated yet very present in these times: self-isolation. Our artist is a clear instance of this. Going silent for over 6 months on social media and reconnecting to himself and what he loves to do has been essential for him and the development of his music. Even his return to social media wasn’t driven by desire, but necessity. “Strictly music promotion,” he says. “If I weren’t doing this music thing, you wouldn’t hear from me online at all. That’s why I sent postcards to everyone who ever bought merch from me, with a private Tumblr link for the album. I love finding creative ways to share my music, I just don’t like the addictive nature of socials.” And he’s ready to push this exploration further with Spade. As he puts it with a smile: “If you’re reading this article, then you’re a real one”.
Our rooms, once a symbol of prison and reclusion, today feel like fresh air, places where we can breathe again, heal, and create. Outside, instead, we are the generation of tables where people care more about their own stories than the conversation itself. We normalise ghosting. We convince ourselves we don’t owe anyone an explanation. But when those we care about do the same to us, we feel upset and misunderstood. As Carter notes, communication and trust tend to collapse, yet connection is still what we aim for. For him, this withdrawal wasn’t a dramatic rupture but something natural. “I’m naturally more introverted,” he explains.
“The pandemic gave me a reason to isolate with more flexibility and freedom. Honestly, I’m very comfortable with being alone.” And, I feel it is something that not only resonates with Carter. I feel it’s more of a tendency of our times. But why does this happen? How have we come to prefer isolation rather than companionship? Maybe escapism, maybe egocentrism, or just a lack of control over what surrounds us. Or maybe, none of the 3. Probably it’s more of a mistrust of current relationships. Our artist, in fact, shed some light on a deeper trigger: relationships nature and their absence. “Not only romantic ones, but familial and platonic too,” he admits.
“It’s weird because Little Bit of Conversation was kind of a precursor to a breakup. I was still fully in a relationship when I wrote it. They even liked the song. But looking back, five years later, I realised what it meant.” Isolation, however, has reshaped his view of people. “I’m still reclusive, but I can accept it now. I learned what I do and don’t have the energy for, and how to accept that.” Carter connects this to the way his generation perceives communication. “Accountability almost doesn’t exist now, but everyone still expects to be connected at all times. People say ‘I don’t owe anyone anything,’ but then get upset if someone they’re talking to didn’t text them back within an hour, even though they’re online. Instead of trying to exist within it, I chose to escape it.” Maybe escapism, self-validation, and denial of the surroundings are just a consequence of what is going on lately.