Most people aren't worth having as friends.
Is a conclusion I've came to. You have to be very selective of your friends. I could probably have a lot more friends if I smoked weed/partied/drank/was promiscuous, but I don't wanna do those things. It's a fine line I guess. Obviously not everyone you meet is gonna be exactly like you and you must compromise. Some people can even do those things and as long as they're tolerant and respect your choice to not do those things the relationship will work.
Besides "things" people do, some people are manipulative, narcissistic, sociopathic, etc. Or they'll simply ask a lot of favors or help of you. I've been guilty of the favors thing in the past, to be honest. Some people with bad personality traits, are OK in small doses. Especially if they attempt to right wrongs, or if the wrongs done are just mistakes, etc. But most people of this type should be steered clear of.
To some extent, friends ARE easy to make, really. Just talk to people. I've never really had a problem making friends, just keeping them, I guess either because I'm a dick and have bad personality traits, or my eccentricity/etc. But generally the "friends" that stay are people above who want something from you. It's hard to find boring normal friends. And sometimes too, it's just missed connections for friendship, ie, someone lives too far away to see them often, etc.
And before people give suggestions of "LOL WHAT ABOUT CHURCH?" or something. Been there, done that. It's the same everywhere you go where there's a bunch of people. Church should have taught me a lot. So many people from church went out drinking, smoking weed, and partying, most of the time together. So many people seemed to be just "hang arounds" not actually interested in theology or anything like that.
Maybe it's because of two friendships I decided to not participate in anymore, there's no point in having friends who just bring drama or general ill into your life, or excessively gossip/etc. Whatever.
I guess the problem's been solved. I don't need more friends, or to go out and socialize more, etc. It's good to have very few friends. More people as "friends" just means more trouble in general for you. So I guess I'm cool with my handful of old friends I occasionally talk to. And my "boring" life.
So yeah, f**k all that "lol expand your social circle" BS. Most people suck and aren't worth being friends with anyway.
Can you imagine if I smoked weed? Holy sh*t! I'd have so many friends I'd have to beat them off with a stick.
When I was a drug addict I had "friends", too, though not the kind of people you'd want to introduce to your mother.
I'm a yawning bore now. No drugs, no friends. Oh well. You can't have it all.
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The way I see it if someone does not like you because of trivial reasons such as not attractive enough, not a drinker, not a smoker, etc then their not worth knowing. Personality and who someone really is, is what should matter but a lot of people cannot seem to understand that.
Besides "things" people do, some people are manipulative, narcissistic, sociopathic, etc. Or they'll simply ask a lot of favors or help of you. I've been guilty of the favors thing in the past, to be honest. Some people with bad personality traits, are OK in small doses. Especially if they attempt to right wrongs, or if the wrongs done are just mistakes, etc. But most people of this type should be steered clear of.
To some extent, friends ARE easy to make, really. Just talk to people. I've never really had a problem making friends, just keeping them, I guess either because I'm a dick and have bad personality traits, or my eccentricity/etc. But generally the "friends" that stay are people above who want something from you. It's hard to find boring normal friends. And sometimes too, it's just missed connections for friendship, ie, someone lives too far away to see them often, etc.
And before people give suggestions of "LOL WHAT ABOUT CHURCH?" or something. Been there, done that. It's the same everywhere you go where there's a bunch of people. Church should have taught me a lot. So many people from church went out drinking, smoking weed, and partying, most of the time together. So many people seemed to be just "hang arounds" not actually interested in theology or anything like that.
Maybe it's because of two friendships I decided to not participate in anymore, there's no point in having friends who just bring drama or general ill into your life, or excessively gossip/etc. Whatever.
I guess the problem's been solved. I don't need more friends, or to go out and socialize more, etc. It's good to have very few friends. More people as "friends" just means more trouble in general for you. So I guess I'm cool with my handful of old friends I occasionally talk to. And my "boring" life.
So yeah, f**k all that "lol expand your social circle" BS. Most people suck and aren't worth being friends with anyway.
I totally get where you're coming from and agree with you to a point.
What I've come to realise, is that most people - who of course are mostly NT - have a larger circle of friends, many of whom us Aspies would consider to be more acquaintances.
What I believe is that it's far better to have quality than quantity.
It took me some time to realise this, and I used to hang out with a bunch of guys at my local watering hole, many of whom were my friends by extension, as they were my brother's friends, many of whom were in his year at school.
Nowadays by comparison I pretty much keep to myself, hang out with my wife and sometimes go out with her and her friends, who by extension have become my own friends.
There is no law that says you must have so many friends, (either on FB, WP, or in real life), but obviously most of us have to have some level of social interaction, whether we like it or not.
So by all means, don't fall into the trap of feeling the need to conform to someone else's ideal and have many friends, but by the same token, make sure the friends that you do have a true friends and worth the effort.
That seems practical and logical, and a better solution than being a complete loner.
While I am happy being by myself for most of the time, I also crave social interaction too. Doesn't have to be with lot of people, in fact some of the most enjoyable parties I've been to are the ones with a few of my closest friends. They are my friends because they have similar interests, eg gaming. I am not also interested in gossip, it is a waste of time.
I used to attract quite a few people who just wanted something from me, but I've managed to cut down on the numbers the past few years. If you're prone to giving too much or yielding, especially to strangers and acquaintances, I think they sniff that out like blood in the water.
yes!
I have to say I disagree with your conclusion:
You gave some examples of bad behavior, and those are easy enough to find, but no proof that the majority of people are jerks. And in some of what you illustrate it is unclear whether it is others or your own attitude that causes social difficulties. It seems more you seek to explain your own difficult socializing experiences with a generalized and very likely false, explanation.
The majority of people are just plain people trying to live their lives and not particularly bad or predatory. Everywhere you go, they live in organized societies with sets of rules and standards. If this was not true we'd all be still living in caves and killing each other on site.
I am not saying society is perfect, and some are more difficult then others, but if you are having such problems integrating in, the problems must lie elsewhere.
Kjas
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Joined: 26 Feb 2012
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 6,059
Location: the place I'm from doesn't exist anymore
Besides "things" people do, some people are manipulative, narcissistic, sociopathic, etc. Or they'll simply ask a lot of favors or help of you. I've been guilty of the favors thing in the past, to be honest. Some people with bad personality traits, are OK in small doses. Especially if they attempt to right wrongs, or if the wrongs done are just mistakes, etc. But most people of this type should be steered clear of.
To some extent, friends ARE easy to make, really. Just talk to people. I've never really had a problem making friends, just keeping them, I guess either because I'm a dick and have bad personality traits, or my eccentricity/etc. But generally the "friends" that stay are people above who want something from you. It's hard to find boring normal friends. And sometimes too, it's just missed connections for friendship, ie, someone lives too far away to see them often, etc.
And before people give suggestions of "LOL WHAT ABOUT CHURCH?" or something. Been there, done that. It's the same everywhere you go where there's a bunch of people. Church should have taught me a lot. So many people from church went out drinking, smoking weed, and partying, most of the time together. So many people seemed to be just "hang arounds" not actually interested in theology or anything like that.
Maybe it's because of two friendships I decided to not participate in anymore, there's no point in having friends who just bring drama or general ill into your life, or excessively gossip/etc. Whatever.
I guess the problem's been solved. I don't need more friends, or to go out and socialize more, etc. It's good to have very few friends. More people as "friends" just means more trouble in general for you. So I guess I'm cool with my handful of old friends I occasionally talk to. And my "boring" life.
So yeah, f**k all that "lol expand your social circle" BS. Most people suck and aren't worth being friends with anyway.
Acquaintances and friends are different things. Expanding your social circle is mostly about meeting new people and making lots of acquaintances. Very, very, very few of those acquaintances will actually ever become friends. Even fewer will become good friends. If you're really lucky, one or two might become lifelong friends.
It's basically the point to expand it and have some fun while doing so, and ending up with lots of acquaintances along the way. From those, will come a few friends.
I'm not keen on drinking, smoking, drugs, promiscuity or partying either. I will hang out with people like that, but most people who do that are obviously only going to remain acquaintances. Occasionally they will bring someone along with them who almost never or rarely goes out - those are the people I generally end up becoming friends with because we are more compatible. Usually they find one or two new people along month every time or every few times like that.
If you don't do well at parties and meeting people, find a position to put yourself in that means you meet and talk with everyone for a short while and then can move on - like being the DJ, photographer or bartender for the night (especially for house parties). The people who genuinely like you will either stay and talk, despite the interruptions, or will come back to talk to you multiple times throughout the night, if they like you.
If you seriously can't do friends after this long, then it's either because you don't have a social circle, or there's something you are doing wrong - or both.
_________________
Diagnostic Tools and Resources for Women with AS: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt211004.html
If you don't do well at parties and meeting people, find a position to put yourself in that means you meet and talk with everyone for a short while and then can move on - like being the DJ, photographer or bartender for the night (especially for house parties). The people who genuinely like you will either stay and talk, despite the interruptions, or will come back to talk to you multiple times throughout the night, if they like you.
I use to go to parties in my early 20's. I was funny and weird,so alot of people(at party) like talking to me.
but parties are not for me.
but for 1000 knives,I don't know what he's like.
If you don't do well at parties and meeting people, find a position to put yourself in that means you meet and talk with everyone for a short while and then can move on - like being the DJ, photographer or bartender for the night (especially for house parties). The people who genuinely like you will either stay and talk, despite the interruptions, or will come back to talk to you multiple times throughout the night, if they like you.
I use to go to parties in my early 20's. I was funny and weird,so alot of people(at party) like talking to me.
but parties are not for me.
but for 1000 knives,I don't know what he's like.
I'm like that.
Like talking to me, don't like having me as longterm friend because I'm insane.
How are you insane? You seem pretty normal.
Anyway, a handful of friends sounds like a good starting point to me. Much better than what many other people have.
If you're bored and want to meet new people, then yes, it might take a while to find the right people. But if you have friends, I don't understand why you think you couldn't find more - they're not fundamentally different now, are they?
_________________
What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant. - D.F.W.
What I'm wondering is: who the hell has time for that? If you work, have hobbies, a household to handle and try to take care of your health and other non-optional responsibilities, how do you manage to make lots of acquaintances and sort through them to figure out who might perhaps be friendship material? Especially if you have AS and it takes huge amounts of energy to deal with other people in the first place.
_________________
What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant. - D.F.W.
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