Social Anxiety Blogs

Ok, so this is my cynical side popping up again.

I can't help but feel strange joining a special interest group or club. Obviously, the reason why you've joined is to meet new people and hopefully make new friends. That's the idealism behind the concept.

But I can't help but stigmatize the whole thing. Here's a bunch of strangers together, like a melting pot full of potentially odd ingredients, with a hope that somehow one or two of the ingredients will form a bond.

Dismally, I've joined a few meet-up groups and haven't successfully found a single friend that stuck around long enough. The chances of the same people showing up to these group meetings is minimal. So, you end up meeting new strangers every week, doing different activities together. And then if you're lucky you strike up a friendship, and hopefully continue that friendship away from the main group. Hopefully, that is.

I can blame my ineptitude at making friends to social anxiety, but honestly I think that half the time it's a lame way to make friends. It's so contrived. It's hard for me to experience any fun doing an activity amongst people I hardly know. You can't just create something out of thin air, and that's what it seems like to me.

I know this is disappointing news to the readers out there, but I have to remind you that it's my experience. I don't want to generalize it as the typical experience. I guess the more outgoing types have an easier way of establishing that friendship rapport compared to myself.

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