I love a “wine-fuelled evening with my favourite people” as much as anyone, but there’s a unique pleasure in doing things alone, says Abby Young-Powell in the I newspaper. You can immerse yourself in the film no one else wanted to see. You can people-watch in a café and “eat your favourite noodles with sauce dripping down your chin”. In Berlin, where I live, you’re more likely to get into exclusive clubs such as Berghain if you turn up on your own.
As for the fear that you’ll be judged by others for doing stuff solo, psychology suggests otherwise: the “spotlight effect” means other people don’t notice what we do nearly as much as we imagine. So book that table for one – “You might have more fun than you realise.”