Does the concept of individuality bind us?

Let's say we have two people. Both of whom work for a great company, and enjoy their work. Both are happy. <br><br>One lives alone. He does not identify with any political party, social group, subculture, or religion. At work, he chooses to work alone. He goes to the gym, and also chooses to be alone. He goes to a store, and chooses to be alone. He has no problem with people speaking to him, he doesn't mind them, but he doesn't go out of his way to make friends. He has a small group, who he meets up with irregularly, but he doesn't go out of his way to find new friends. He doesn't go to bars, clubs, or hangouts. He likes his alone time. He likes to think alone. He likes to be by himself. His favorite thing to do is to sit in his room alone and read. He doesn't have anything against anyone or any group. He just prefers to be alone. <br><br>And then there's the second person, the extrovert. He also works at the same job, and is happy with it. He lives with roommates, and loves to make new friends. He doesn't like to go anywhere alone. If he's at the gym, and he sees someone working out alone, he'll go up to them and just start talking to them. He goes to the bar, and tries to make new friends as quickly as he can. He is in a political party, and is a proud patriot. He is friends with everybody he knows. <br><br>Both are happy. Now, have I given you enough information to determine which person is more happy or more fulfilled? I highly doubt it. There's a whole lot of different ways a person could be, and this is just a couple possibilities. <br><br>Now, what I want to ask, is this: Is person A more individual in that he is happy being alone? Or is he conforming to the ideal that we all should be individual? <br><br>Is he truly alone, if he is working for a company, and identifying with the standards of work? Is he truly alone, if he is just existing as a human being, with the societal norms that come with it. <br><br>Is he more individual, because he is going against the norms of society? But isn't he just conforming to the norms of individuality? <br><br>Now, let's talk about person B. Is he less individual, because he is around people all the time? Is individuality truly about what you want, as long as it's not hurting anybody, or is it truly about doing things by yourself? <br><br>Now let's imagine a third scenario. There is an indigenous tribe deep in the jungle. None of them have ever seen a white man. And they don't know anything about our society or our norms. They live in a highly collectivist society. <br><br>Is person A in our story more individual than them? Are they truly less individual, just because they have never been given the choice to be alone in their entire lives? <br><br>Now, what if this tribe was given the choice to be individual? What if they were individual, for a short period of time, but then decided being collectivist was better for them? <br><br>Is this truly their choice, or are they just conforming to what they have been taught? <br><br>Are we truly individuals, if we choose to be? Are we truly individuals, if we choose not to be? <br><br>This is the paradox of individualism.