Am I actually writing to anyone? Please leave comments if you are reading this :)
If you're anything like me, you probably have more friends online then off.
I used to be an extremely outgoing individual, and once I know you, I still am but I am finding society as a whole is difficult to talk to in real life, until you establish a common ground.
This doesn't apply online, why? Because you're already into the same things. Personally I mostly pay attention to Interior Design & Social Media Marketing on my social media so anyone I connect with is also into at least one of those things maybe both so we already have something to discuss.
You're really gonna get me all up in your business if you make a Harry Potter reference.
Do you like, Harry Potter, Marketing & Interior Design? Then we're already besties - bring it in ;)
So, why does this matter?
I just find it curious, and very intriguing that we can make a better relationship on social media then in real life 8 times out of 10.
Just today, at the mall a young man and myself both looked up from our phones and shared a little smile. How often do those things happen? & how often do we miss them? Are we so caught up in our social media worlds, that we are missing key real life meetings? OR are we making new & better friends through our social media relationships?
Now I know meet-ups happen quite frequently in the United States but I don't hear of many here in Canada (Specifically, Ottawa) So what comes of these meet-ups? You already know you're on the same page, you know you have similar interests, so when you meet face to face, do you become awesome friends really quickly?
I hope I get some feedback on this post because I am genuinely curious what happens at a meet-up & as they don't occur where I live, I would have to travel and that's just not gonna happen. Not anytime soon anyways.
<<---- Look forward to comments on this ---->>
I've gone back and forth with MeetUps, as well as social events run by other online communities (like a group who schedules their stuff as FB events). It's easy to talk to people since you're on common ground, like you mentioned. However, my struggle is that it becomes too easy to confine your interaction with these people to your group events. I have very few people who have transitioned into genuine friends versus people I see only at these social events. How do you cross over?
ReplyDeleteThat being said, social media works much better for me when it comes to making actual friends. If I get along with someone on twitter and we're in close proximity, I'll recommend we meet IRL. It's still tough, though, because not all of those work out.
I think, in the end, it's tricky no matter which way you go. People forget that friendships require some work on each person's behalf. Reaching out, planning, checking in between social outings and the like - it's not just liking someone's posts on FB. I try to remind myself that developing a true friendship takes time, and I've found a small number of quality people which is much better than having a large number of acquaintances. :)
~Laura VZ @1girl2cities
Love it! Thanks Laura.
DeleteThose are very good points, any relationship is a two way street and if one half of the equation doesn't put in effort then it is inevitably going to fail... Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this :)