Yes, I agree. I completely understand the need to be alone. It's just that the world has really become a world of individuals. It's kind of funny that with the internet, instant communication is possible with people from all around the world. Yet put a bunch of people using the internet on their phones in close proximity (a bus or a train, for example) and you have a bunch of individuals siloed off from everyone else - and don't you dare interrupt their little bubble.
I have struggled with the same problem myself in Open. Do I say hello to someone over comms? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. More often than not, I'm not really interested in conversations either. But that doesn't mean you can't respond with a simple 'Hello' or 'Fly safe, commander.'
It just seems a little sad if people insist on a particular mode so as to avoid all possible risk of human engagement.
Yes. These are just my personal opinions.
It's really not a matter of needing to be alone. Sometimes people want company, sometimes they don't. Yes, you are quite right, technology that allows us to be permanently connected has in some ways made us more introverted. (We can all blame Apple, even though personally I like their products.

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But the point is, I think, that we don't necessarily want communications with strangers. It's not that they are not nice people, it's just that we are not seeking their company, just as you don't necessarily seek the company of the person sitting next to you on a train or a plane.
As far as the game goes (I'm no psychologist), some people want to make friends in the game, some just want to play, nothing wrong with either of these perspectives, but it shouldn't be forced, either way. And to get back to the point of the thread, any non consensual engagement is likely to be considered negative. Why should a person be obliged to say hello or fly safe CMDR back to you? Of course, they are not, and sometimes they may not respond because they are busy docking, or fighting, or doing whatever it is in the game that made them log in in the first place. It may not be personal or a slight.
Why is it sad if people want to play this game, or indeed any game, on their own? I don't see that it has anything to do with risk, simply preference. And it's the suggestion from some people that an aversion to risk is the reason why people choose not engage with them that is (at least in my personal opinion), somewhat condescending and perhaps offending. You give your time, and of yourself, to others because you feel they are worth it, not because they demand it.