I never had a social life, either romantic or platonic, and I’m wondering if anyone else has gone from 0 social life to an active one past college. Like I wasted college just going to classes and I graduated already. Thoughts?

  • CapriciousDay@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    A good way is to find a meetup group with some shared interest. It doesn’t really matter what so long as the crowd is good and you know enough to hold a conversation in the subject.

  • onlooker@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Congrats on graduating! And to answer your question: no, it’s not too late. However, fair warning: it does seem to get harder to develop a social life the older you get. But by no means impossible.

  • Luke@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    It’s totally possible to build a new network of great friends at literally any point in your life! I have moved multiple times over the years to entirely different regions where I knew zero people and I have always eventually found new friends. (I’m also autistic and introverted, so if I can do it, most people probably can.)

    Sometimes it might take a while to find the activities you like, and thus the people who share your interests, but they’re out there! If nothing else, it helps to start going on a regular basis to a local bar that hosts live music and just nurse a drink (even a soda if you’re sober) and hang out, you’ll start sussing out the social fabric in the area pretty quick.

    Good luck, you can do it!

  • wuphysics87@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    When I hear “social life”, “romantic”, and “platonic” right next to each other like that, I think “social life” is code for spitting game. If that’s the case I’ll let you know when I figure it out

  • gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com
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    1 month ago

    I used to, when I had fun neighbours my age that I made through an online Buy Nothing group. If you just start indulging in social groups related to your interests, you’re bound to meet people. It’s up to you if you want to socialize more with those people.

    Unfortunately, no one will force you to hang out with them (except red flag weirdos), so a lot of the effort needs to come from you. If you get flaked on/deprioritized/ignored/ghosted more than once or twice, that’s the cue to move on and try someone else so you don’t get your hopes up.

  • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    no, if you had the ability to create one and chose not to.

    also no, if you didn’t have the ability, realize that and start working at the reasons why. (in my case it turned out to be autism).

  • Ton the Supermassive@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    Of course you can, it just requires more work. Find a group of like-minded people by joining a evening class; group training; volunteer at an event; etc…

    It requires a lot of effort, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

  • toastal@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    The most difficult part is keeping your privacy respected. Normals will require you congregate on some proprietary, data-thieving platform to participate.

  • Salamander@mander.xyz
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    1 month ago

    No, not at all! As you grow older, it may not be as automatic as when you are in school. Many of the people that you interact with might be focused on their own stuff (work, partner, family, hobbies, finance) and not too motivated to expand or even have a “social life” in whatever free time they have (if they even do). But this is not everyone. There is still a lot of people at every age that do want a social life, you just need to put in a bit of effort to connect with them.

    And, a tip, do not consider failed attempts at socializing as a “failure” on your side. Perceived rejection often boils down to people being very attached to their free time, and socializing not being on their list of priorities. If you keep this in mind then you do not need to feel discomfort from rejection, and you can be active in your search for like-minded people without worry.

  • Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 month ago

    Too late? No way! Success depends a lot on your expectations and sense of self, so I would encourage you to be in therapy to get those straight. We all need therapy, but now would be a good time for you, before starting a new way of life.

    But no way. You are perfectly fine.

    • PresidentCamacho@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Definitely get therapy, everyone should. Also don’t avoid socializing while u work on yourself In therapy, dual path it!

  • thevoidzero@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Depends on circumstances a lot. It’s easy if you’re in college/work with similar people. Otherwise it might be hard to start, especially if you don’t have a lot of free time.

    I moved a lot alone and had to make a new social life a lot. during school, for high school, for college, then jobs, then moved country. Except for last one where I knew a few people every other case I had 0 friends carried over. Hardest to have a social life was during the time I was working on jobs as the ability to meet new people decreased a lot.

    So basically it is hard when you don’t goto college and job where you are forced to spend time with people, but that can also sometimes makes it hard to hangout with the same people outside of work.

    So far things that have worked out for me:

    • People with same interest that you randomly meet sometimes.
    • keep your social media connected and when you see stories of people doing things you like strike a conversation about it. Don’t force to have full convo, just say your piece about that story and leave it be if it doesn’t go any farther. Small talks just sharing some sentences are good starting points. If it happens a few time with same person you might find someone you have common things with.
    • try some group activities that doesn’t have to have a lot of talking. Something you can be present there just doing your thing, it could be local recreational sports group, volunteering, library, etc.
    • friends of friends, statistically your friends in average have more friends than you, so just hangout with them in group activities, and try to make new connections. You have to start somewhere.
    • online friends, sometimes it just helps to have people to talk to, careful on who you’re hanging out with, but fandoms and such online are good to make friends that you can talk to without responsibilities of maintaining a relationship. It’ll help you be more open on sharing your interests.