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Sooo, where does a site like this fall on the social/solitude scale? It's probably not enough to totally replace human contact but if you spend your "alone time" chatting online, I can't say that really counts as being alone.
But its different. I like messaging on a board. I can log in and read and respond then go off and do something else. I don't have to coordinate with anyone. If I go into a live chat, then I have to be there reading and tryping real time. And I can spend as much time on a post as I want to get it right where when one 'chats' its all for the moment and comes out however you typed it. And aside where I live which I chose to put there, nobody would recognize me. It's social contact but once removed and under your own control of where and when.
I'm one of those who score 100 percent on the myers briggs for being introverted. When forced to be around a lot of people I just make them invisible and actively are not social with them. I have my space and my pets and call friends on the phone and that's just fine. I'm perfectly happy if I don't go out among people for days. Some of us are just loners and wired a little differently.
My pets are sort of people substitues except they can't mindlessly babble about boring things or make suggestions I think they should be keeping their nose out of my life over.
I'm an extreme, I know, and have had to 'try' until they quit looking and I quit showing but the essense of it is I am perfectly happy this way and to me its not a problem.
I'm like nightbird. My animals are quite enough, and preferable to people, with all their needs, demands, and constant dialogue. But even phone conversations suck the life out of me.
I can't figure out what seems more exhausting to me: constantly talking or constantly having to listen to someone talk. I sometimes say to the boyfriend in the middle of him "processing" his entire day with me, "doesn't your mouth get tired from talking that much?" I'm not even trying to be rude, but of course he takes it that way. I'm just amazed that a person can feel the need to talk so much about every little event of their day.
But its different. I like messaging on a board. I can log in and read and respond then go off and do something else. I don't have to coordinate with anyone. If I go into a live chat, then I have to be there reading and tryping real time. And I can spend as much time on a post as I want to get it right where when one 'chats' its all for the moment and comes out however you typed it. And aside where I live which I chose to put there, nobody would recognize me. It's social contact but once removed and under your own control of where and when.
Oh, I agree. But if you're the kind of person who claims to not be social at all, to prefer to be alone 90% of the time...and then spend all that "alone" time online with virtual strangers, are you really alone? It seems like some sort of social contact to me.
I think I could go a good long while alone if I still had online contact in some form, but if I were alone in a cabin without the internet or a single soul around, I think I'd go crazy much faster.
Oh, I agree. But if you're the kind of person who claims to not be social at all, to prefer to be alone 90% of the time...and then spend all that "alone" time online with virtual strangers, are you really alone? It seems like some sort of social contact to me.
I think I could go a good long while alone if I still had online contact in some form, but if I were alone in a cabin without the internet or a single soul around, I think I'd go crazy much faster.
I could could probably be alone in a cabin for extremely long time periods before becomming lonely...just so long as there were insects around. The insects are company too, particularly ants and cicadas. Not so much wasps.
I can honestly say I've never experienced feeling "lonely." When I'm alone, I always have lots of stuff to occupy me, so I never associate "bored" or "lonely" with "time alone."
I don't think any of us loners are saying we spend most of our alone time on online message boards. A couple posts here say "most" of out time alone is spent doing this. I spend a very small amount of time on this site when I'm home and alone. I mostly pop in here while at work, and multi-task as I'm doing work. If anything, it's an escape from the office chit-chat/socializing that others tend to do in between all their work tasks.
There are days I barely speak to or see anybody. I spend most of my time in my room.
I can't say that I can go for a long period of time without speaking to someone. I wish crazy family members would stop talking to me at work though. It's nice coming home to a quiet house. Sometimes I can't even listen to music and need the quiet to detox.
If you're not a social creature, why are you reading this?
that's your opinion and the opinion of a few others that online interaction counts as social time. To me it's online interaction and nothing else. I am reading this because I like reading and talking online that doesn't equate to me wanting to go out and socialize with people IRL. I don't.
They ARE social creatures or we wouldn't have societies, civilizations, etc.
That being said, I am with you.
My job is so people oriented that I don't want to have anything to do with anyone else (besides my family) when I get home. So we don't go out much.
maybe some are and some aren't that was my point. you like being around family and work a people oriented job. there's nothing wrong with most of my family but I don't necessarily enjoy their company or anyone else's and I would never work a job like what you have (which I don't know exactly what it is). to me those are different things.
that's your opinion and the opinion of a few others that online interaction counts as social time. To me it's online interaction and nothing else. I am reading this because I like reading and talking online that doesn't equate to me wanting to go out and socialize with people IRL. I don't.
So you don't get lonely then. That's what it sounds like. I, on the other hand prefer to watch a movie with someone else, even if we're both sitting in silence for most of it.
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It's nice coming home to a quiet house. Sometimes I can't even listen to music and need the quiet to detox.
