Is getting answers to questions online a social skill?

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Is getting answers to questions online a social skill?

I often find online forums trigger my social anxiety. Is this a cognitive distortion / catastrophizing?

Yes -- although, for many of us, it's not as difficult as in-person interaction.


Have you had bad experiences with online forums in the past? If so, what kinds of bad experiences?

In my opinion, old-fashioned message boards like this one are much better than social-media entities like Facebook and Twitter, which naturally lend themselves to mob mentality.

Still, it's a good idea to lurk for a while before you post, and of course you should read the rules and guidelines before you post.

I have read lots of pages on how to as questions - but sometimes it seems it matters more who you know than how you communicate. I have a tendency to put too much in a post. Especially for the younger "twitter" / "text-message" crowd.
I have been using e-mail since before the web-browser was invented. Some folks seem to view anything longer than one line TL;DR. I suppose lurking for a while might be worth while - I could try to see what the tone is and what kind of posts get replies.

It can be a skill, especially if the other person is trying to avoid the question.

Not really. Almost any comprehensible question will get a response.

There's no way for us to know why it triggers your anxiety.

This is probably true on social media such as Twitter, where posts from the more popular people get featured and others tend to disappear quickly.

This is frustrating for Twitter newbies like me, with only one follower so far. (I got a new Twitter account earlier this month. Previously I always avoided Twitter.)

I hope you've had better luck here on Wrong Planet.


As far as I can tell you're doing fine, at least by Wrong Planet standards.

Thanks Mona. I guess I will keep on plugging.

Yes.

Know your audience.

I find it hard on here cos basically it has to be something that an aspie/autie/autistic person's loved one would understand from all around the world and all ages.

I find it easy when specialist interests are involved. Eg I have twitter geared all around my interests only.