Have most people become anti social?

_Artemis_ · 16-04-2022 4:43pm

Haven't read the whole thread, but I know what you're getting at. I think people will thaw out in time. We have all just been through a sh*t storm with the pandemic. After such a long time socially distancing ourselves, masks etc.

There is something to be said for a smile. I really missed people's smiles as you interacted with them during the pandemic. Being served in a shop for example, and the small exchanges you'd have with the person serving you. Something I certainly took for granted prior to the pandemic. I'm glad to see people's faces again.

pgj2015 · 16-04-2022 5:04pm

Having read the thread I have had second thoughts about the whole thing. I was too harsh on why people might behave that way. I suppose who knows what is going on in peoples heads.

TheGlossy · 17-04-2022 11:09pm

I personally cannot be bothered with people anymore. Lockdown has taught me that I have enough things to focus on in my life without having to add people's BS on top of it. I simply don't have the energy nor the interest to dedicate to other people.

PoisonIvyBelle · 24-04-2022 10:23pm

I think people are the same as they've always been but the pandemic gave some a breather from having to "play the game" in work etc. and be more social than they naturally are. Maybe they decided they prefer it that way now. No problem with that.

25-04-2022 10:44am

I don't know OP. I don't know anything about other peoples social habits and tendencies but can I take some guesses. For a long time now, before the pandemic, I've sensed a disconnect among us. It manifests different ways. For example finding sitting next to a stranger to be horrible, avoiding eye contact, burying yourself in your phone. Small actions but they all say the same 'do not come close'.

Social media means we have so many ways to keep in touch and be connected but... there's something superficial about it, surface level. In saying that it can be a lifeline for those who find face to face interaction very difficult. Or enabling them further in to isolation.

We are all at different points on the social spectrum. I love people and get a huge amount from being around them and chatting with them. I do reach a point of tiredness though where all I want is to be alone. Being alone is as restorative fore as being with others.

It's possible the pandemic has reinforced some peoples beliefs about others and their desire to be alone. It's also possible that it has instilled fear in those who didn't have such feelings previous. A positive though is that anyone who felt they needed to make an excuse not to do x y or z can hopefully be assertive with their wants now.

At the end of the day you have to do what's right for you.

B.A._Baracus · 25-04-2022 12:23pm

Had a random thought there recently and it's pretty much similiar to this thread, but I was thinking of all the people I knew from jobs over the years. Especially late teens and 20s (as i went from job to job so much, as you do) and I just don't speak to any of them. Not for a lack of trying as I really wanted to make friends back then but... 99.9% of people I have ever met have just been acquaintances. That when you take stock of the hundreds if not thousands you have met, you just got on in the job at best. Knew them by circumstance and once you left the job or whatever that was that.

I do get it, all you can really look for in life is a small close circle of people (family, partner, close friends) etc. But at the same time it is mad to think there are 7 and a half billion people on this planet and people are sociable creatures who require interaction. Bit mad.

apache · 25-04-2022 12:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118933525#Comment_118933525

Good post. People are quick to judge and don't understand anxiety.

dil87 · 02-05-2022 7:27pm

I may sound like an old fart here but I think it has been taking place far far longer than Covid and lockdowns ever took place. I firmly believe social media has had a huge impact on how the younger generation view and interact with the real world. Even years ago when social media first hit the scene it was a new way to share what people were upto in the real world. Now it seems to have turned around and 'online' is now the 'real' world for many. You can easily see it on shows like First Dates or 'Pulling with my parents', they are all chat online to potential partners but a lot clearly have very limited social skills when they meet people in the flesh.

ancapailldorcha · 04-05-2022 10:15am

Most people I work with are in their late twenties whereas I'm in my mid thirties. I just don't quite fit in with colleagues any more. Much easier for me to crack open a good history ebook on my tablet with a cup of tea.

Tony EH · 05-05-2022 6:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119013502#Comment_119013502

Late 20's, mid 30's, what's the difference? A matter of a few years?

It's not an age thing, you probably just don't have the same interests.

ancapailldorcha · 05-05-2022 7:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119017885#Comment_119017885

It's enough of a difference that I don't invited to nights out and the like. It's a research institute so people tend to be younger than me for the most part.

Tony EH · 05-05-2022 8:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119017948#Comment_119017948

Sure. But it's not the age. The last office I worked in, nearly everyone was younger than me, some by a decade, but it made no difference. Most of us got on well in and out of work.

In my experience it's matters of interest that draw people together. Not their ages. If there's no conversational common ground, then it won't matter what age you are and you'll find yourself not in the gang as it were.

ancapailldorcha · 05-05-2022 2:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119017986#Comment_119017986

I see where you'd coming from. I think age is at least part of it though academia is quite cliquey which is probably a bigger piece of it. I'm on a very small team and neither me nor my boss who's in her fifties ever get invited to anything. The new lad is a few years younger than me and speaks Polish fluently which helps as it's a very international place with an increasing number of Poles.

maestroamado · 05-05-2022 2:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058240453/have-most-people-become-anti-social

I think people are very self-concious that they don't know people with the masks and do not want to stare at a person... People nearly always recognoise but i can hardly ever tell a person who is wearing a mask...

bertiebomber · 05-05-2022 3:26pm

Irish people tend to retreat when they are un sure and since we now have such a variety of people around us its safer to look down and avoid any eye contact lest we offend and find ourselves on the new website for flagellating us & persecuting us - Ireport.ie !!

Potential-Monke · 08-05-2022 7:57am

I dunno... having to talk to people means you get their Facebook feed in person... That's basically what socialising was before social media, meeting up to talk crap about the crap you did. People were interested because they couldn't find anything else entertaining to do. Now, well, entertainment is at your fingertips, and it beats the crap out of listening to someone waffle on...

Have most people become anti social?

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