I have never felt more lonely that sitting by myself through a convention. It was good though, because I started to see the religion for what it was.
You find out what you are made of or what is really important to you when you are alone in a crowd. One of the hardest things for some people to do is to sit by themselves in a restaurant or go to a movie alone. Some adults have never done this. I think if every JW attended an entire assembly alone in a place where they knew no one, they wouldn't be distracted by the social niceties and would pay more attention to what is really being said. They'd be able to examine their true motives for being part of this religion and determine if they are part of it based on the merit of it's doctrines and teachings or because they are going along with the peer group they happened to be part of. If you are sitting in a auditorium full of strangers you are able to be far more objective about the program than you are when you are surrounded by individuals you know well and have social or emotional bonds with. There is a group mentality at assemblies that is nice in a way but when thousands of people are clapping their hands in approval of something that was just said but three quarters of them weren't even listening, it's a little scary.