I want to hang out with my friends in real life — not just online. Is that weird? You’re onto something, says our elder. It’s a big problem! Here are a few suggestions for joining the real world.

Dear EWC

Honestly, I’m bored with my life. But to be more specific, it’s the people I interact with. I have a good amount of so called friends. I talk to a lot of people at school. But I feel like I never hang out with them outside of it. Most of the communication I have with them is online (probably around 2.5 hours a day). I talk to them while playing games, watching YouTube or even doing homework. But I never do anything in real life, I find that very odd. There is an exception every once in a while we might play hoops or go to the mall. This happens very rarely and mostly because of outside interference. The other time I hang out, out of school in real life is if I do productive things like going to the gym or studying for a test. Also. there is a high sense of disrespect in them. Sure it’s all jokes but it’s almost like we just make fun of each other (keep in mind this is a high school). I just feel the urge to hang out in real life more but I don’t really know what to do. It just feels wrong to ask them to do something in real life.

Ketchman replies

Thank you for contacting us.
You’re on to a real societal problem. Far too many people are abandoning the ‘real’ world for the digital one. We see that every day with people totally engrossed in their mobile devices paying little to no attention to what’s going on around them. That’s a sad situation because they’re missing out on a lot that occurs outside the small screen. I’m glad that you’ve come to that realization.

The fastest way to join the real world is to spend time with others who do so. Doing volunteer work is one approach. Every community needs volunteers for a wide variety of tasks. There’s the Red Cross, medical facilities, environmental organizations, among others. https://youth.volunteer.ca/ can help you find a local organization that matches your interests with organizations that could use your help. It’s likely that you’ll meet a number of new friends with interests that go far beyond the digital world.

What are some things that you would like to do in the real world? Biking, hiking, getting a part time job? Are there any clubs associated with your high school that interest you? You might have to start by taking the initiative yourself without bringing your friends along. The point is that once you start doing those things the odds are pretty good that you’ll meet others with similar interests and start new rewarding friendships.
I hope that helps. If you like, we can continue this conversation or go on to anything else you could use some assistance with. Please reach out to us again. There’s always someone here for you.

Letter #: 448521
Category: Friendship