My Relationship to Socializing

The BBC shared a post entitled Why we may have to re-learn to socialize about what socializing might look like in a post-COVID world. This got me pondering my own feelings and interactions with people. I also recognize some of these ponderings may not translate in a way that others outside my brain will understand but I will give it a try.

Even in the before times I had a complicated relationship with the concept of people. When I thought about having to meet up in person and interact with people, I felt various levels of low level stress. Nothing that negatively affected my day to day but still there in the background, and which I sometimes refer to as people being too people. 

In general my attitude has been why meet in person (or even worst call on the phone) when an email, Facebook message, or text would do just as well if not better. In situations that involve people I have often felt more comfortable in the role of observer. Or at least staying at a social nicety level (How is your day going/Have a good day ...) For example; I am at this street festival to get freebees and dance to the music, I am at this talk for the free food and the talk, I am at this convention to hear the panels and maybe people watch, not to talk to people.

In addition I have found ways to have the social interaction that we all typically need, from people I do not have to have physical interactions with. Most of the time given the choice of an fictional character/ historical figure/celebrity that I will never personally know beyond a possible autograph or a physical person to hang out with I will choose one of the former. 

Though even though I might say I have historically had pre-people anxiety once I am actually interacting with people in person, it works out fine, understanding that my introvertedness will often make an appearance and I will probably get peopled out way sooner than others at the event.

(Now I will caveat the following with the fact that I have been lucky enough to have great roommates this whole time which is not the case for all people.) 

So personally unlike many people I have found our current times to work well for me. I have had little or no reason to have in person interactions (outside my household) that lasted more that a quick how is your day going to the person ringing up my groceries etc. And I have found since everyone has put their activities online I can go to and enjoy more activities than ever before with out having to worry about having to actively socialize. I have to confess part of me is like even once we are all post-Covid can we keep up the "social distancing" thing because it works well for me.

So again personally (and I know many others have had difference experiences) I have liked this period of rest from in person socialization. This means I know I have to think more about socialization and what that might look like moving forward. While we still have some time before this all really comes to the forefront, since it is going to take time to vaccinate us all, self reflecting now or how I want that post-Covid world to look like for me, is an important to-do.