Socially Awkward

I have come to the conclusion lately that my inner crotchety old person comes out when it comes to social networking. It's not that I'm a hermit, it's just that I prefer more hermit like living in general.

This spills over from internet into real life too. I have friends, good ones, but few that I feel I can tell just anything to. Mostly because most of my friends don't have the time to devote to talking with me on a large variety of subjects and connecting solidly with me to get me to the point where I feel like I've effectively built a close relationship. It's not their fault that my brain declares me to be a time-intensive person to have a close relationship, I totally understand them feeling that other things in their lives are more important, because they are. It doesn't mean that the relationships are lacking closeness, it just means there are topics that I don't discuss with them (always politics, religion and/or sex, depending on the friend).

That is really the only part that spills over from social networking sites. For the most part, I find that I'm fairly sure that I couldn't effectively communicate most of the time in only 140 characters. I find that when I do update my FaceBook status, it's usually with something silly and inane that means nothing in the long run. I am always forgetting to take my camera with me when I go to see people, so I don't have a lot of pictures.

It's not that I'm against social networking. I just don't see it as something that is important for me. I'd prefer an e-mail from my extended family. I'd rather take the time to go visit my dad and have a real conversation. I'd rather not obsess over which one(s) of my cousins is pregnant. Social networking may keep me more plugged into what's happening with my family, but there are some things I'd rather not know.

So, the crotchety old lady in me keeps waving her cane at the social networking sites and yelling for them to get off her lawn. She's connected enough, thank you.