Aren't you feeling the vibe, King?! Hehe

Vibe...I get it. This is truly a fine portrait. The out-of-focus shape in the foreground appears to be a woman with long hair. If not, it certainly gave me that impression, so I the little boy didn't appear to be alone.

You don't have to be alone to feel alone. That there is someone in the room has no bearing imho, it merely exacerbates the loneliness. I think we need a little 3 day course in empathy at WS....lol.

...empathy and mind reading, lol.

...Andrew...are you confusing "Alone" (the theme) with "Lonely" (not the theme)?

I think they are two different things.

@Andrew...Ana's thread on the current theme on the WS Google Group got me to rethink the theme, especially in regard to the theme's description, which I find to be very broad. That being the case, I can no longer argue the relevance of this photo.

Apparently a lot of folks are rating and commenting without taking into account the very broad definition of "Alone" in the theme description. I'll be more careful in future ratings and comments.

Thanks for all your views, I'm learning alot about "hte eye of the beholder"!

@King...I agree it's a theme which covers alot of ground. Alone in the dictionary is defined as separated from others: isolated. So it is possible to be that in a room full of people.

@psychodudu...I was arguing with your statement, "it merely exacerbates the loneliness." I still make a distinction between alone and lonely, but the broadness of the theme, I think, blurs any distinction I wish to make.

Having read this little debate I have to say that my read is that the boy is totally absorbed in what someone on the left of the room is saying or doing. He appears totally "in" and "in tune with" his environment and therefore is the exact opposite of alone and/or lonely

We all see what we want to see, at the end of the day, I guess. It's my job to convey the message, but I failed to do that effectively enough here. Ah well, you win some you lose some....

Caught red-handed....