Being Oblivious to the Concept of Socialization

Socializing is a common practice among adults as a way of getting to know each other but this skill may not seem so obvious to everyone. As a young child, like most, I played with kids in the neighborhood. I was outgoing and socialized with others by playing games and sports.

As a teen, I become more reserved but still managed to socialize with others at school and during after school sports. Around this time, I did not really understand the concept of socialization. I only knew of socializing as a byproduct of doing an activity. It never occurred to me that it would be a stand alone activity.

As I got older into late high school and college years, people began to start having parties where they would invite people over and the main activity would be just talking. Maybe they would have some music and some snacks or something but no specific activity planned. I remember going to these parties at first and just being kind of confused and bored as if there was nothing to do.

Soon I became accustomed to socializing as it is an activity that becomes more common as an adult. I still would not consider myself a social person and still I prefer to socialize while doing an activity rather than having “talking” be the activity.

I think it is more comfortable and natural to talk with people while doing something because the focus is on the activity so there is no pressure to try to make a conversation. If conversation happens, great, but if not, it is no big deal because there is something else to focus on.