Aren't we are all lonely individual in some way or another? Covering it up to pretend we're ok.

I don't agree. I've been lonely all my life, very literally. Some people just use 'lonely' in a flippant sense, when they in fact, have people around them who care and like them, they just don't see it. I'd be delighted to have that.

I'm never lonely. Not really. Sometimes I'll start missing someone so I call and arrange a visit. If I couldn't do that, I guess I'd get lonely, but I have a large family. I get along well with them. I'm not terribly needy, so if I call and say hey, I feel like seeing you, they don't say no, and I never wear out my welcome, because I like being home. When they visit me, they leave when they want. It's pretty good. I've not been lonely since I stopped living with my ex who loved his booze more than me.

Yes. We're lonely because we're individuals. We're social beings, therefore deep inside, we want someone else to like what we like (a connection). We want to be acknowledged; to feel like we're part of something. But when everyone's doing their own thing, no one else can "fit in". Thus we feel lonely.

welcome to reality

Very true.