It's not necessarily just being alone, it's being alone with zero mental stimulation. There are lots of people happy be to alone with a computer or TV or books. Nobody can be alone without anything for more than a few days.

It's kind of like saying "is it really true people have to sleep everyday?"

Wow, it’s the exact opposite of me.

I often get on a flight from the east coast to the west coast and just stare at the seat in front of me. There’s too much to figure out about so many things. I crave alone time with no external stimulation, so weird to me that even 15 minutes would freak people out.

Vsauce actually did a real-life experiment on this in one of his videos, definitely worth a watch. Basically as long as the shock isn't harmful, some people can see it as some stimulation to help boredom. If I left you alone in an empty room with nothing in it but that fake pack of gum that shocks you when you pull it out, chances are you will try playing with it even though you know it'll shock you.

I always have to have something to play in my ear. If jot that my thoughts would bring back the demons of the past.

Podcasts and audio books are helping a lot.

Ok, but how painful is the shock? If it's only mildly uncomfortable then this isn't surprising at all.

"Most people?"

Even though all participants had previously stated that they would pay money to avoid being shocked with electricity, 67% of men and 25% of women chose to inflict it on themselves rather than just sit there quietly and think, the team reports online today in Science.

That doesn't really sound all that conclusive to me.

Humans are social creatures, loneliness is a form of pain too

Don't knock electric shocks. TENS provides me nice pain relief and soothes muscle cramps.

I would probably spam the button out of bordem lol

What makes you think this is a new phenomenon?

There's a distinct line between social/sense deprivation torture and simple inner reflection or meditation. Just saying. It's maybe for every individual different, but there definitely is.