Social distractions could look like actually spending time with people or like watching videos online ! I always used to think that going on socials was a way to decompress my mind, to relax and take a moment to myself ... in reality, I was filling my head with so many things, completely overwhelming my already tired brain ! Great point here to take time without external input / stimuli so you can find a point of stillness in which you can actually think, ponder, and question. Creating v consuming !

It would be incredibly difficult to be open to even listening to your friends vent about their day if you can't even calm down the storm in your head to hear your own thoughts ! A great example of why it's so important to take care of yourself so you have the capacity to be there for your community.

Absolutely ! Especially when dealing with difficult emotions / experiences that are hard to face ... it's easy to avoid facing yourself / your reality with our phones always in reach !

I don't think I could say the common mindset in the west is that solitude is bad ! There's actually quite a pervasive mentality / culture of hyper-independence here, in which one is often if not always self-centered, wants to be the best / beat the competition, and does not consider others in their decisions. However, it is fair to say that most people don't want to be lonely, and that loneliness is a side-effect of our capitalistic culture ...