Re:From Army of One to Band of Tweeters
by azernik on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @04:24PM
(#10542617)
Not incapable. Just not interested. If you have a healthy social life outside of work (ie you're still in touch with old friends, and whenever they move close enough you know it and can rekindle the friendship), why do you need to invest so much in a work-centered social circle?
Re:From Army of One to Band of Tweeters
by Jtsummers on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @04:31PM
(#10542668)
Fair. But I've also witnessed this outside of work environments. People are so strongly (and as I say, this isn't bad on its own) tied to past relationships (HS, college) and easily connected to them via FB, Twitter, etc. that they aren't making relationships in their new locations when they move. The latter part is the problem. You're in a new environment. You're working and living with new people. You need to connect to them in some manner, if you remain strangers with those around you (work, neighborhood, etc.), then you will be lonely and unhappily disconnected from people unless you're particularly introverted.
Re:From Army of One to Band of Tweeters
by Jtsummers on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @05:45PM
(#10543191)
I missed your parenthetical earlier.
> you're still in touch with old friends, and whenever they move close enough you know it and can rekindle the friendship
This is a big if. I'm speaking of people who have moved across the country or state, and where the likelihood of this is near zero. The only way they'll rekindle the friendship (specifically being physically local) is if they move back themselves, rather than waiting for their friends to move to them.
Re:From Army of One to Band of Tweeters
by azernik on Tuesday November 10, 2015 @06:37PM
(#10543543)
Well, I'm in the Bay Area and grew up in LA, so the drift is very prounounced. People at my old workplace who came from farther afield (e.g. Canada or the East Coast) tended to take a lot more initiative in socializing at work.
I was in college when IM was still hot, before Facebook existed and continued on through grad school by which time it and Twitter had exploded. Over the years, the community at the universities changed. Students became more and more distant from each other, with less emphasis on social activities with those locally available to them. I've observed the same after nearly a decade in the workforce. The different attitudes, based primarily on age since social media use corresponds highly with age, is astounding. 40+ year olds are far more invested in ideas like office social events, group lunches or fun days, as a way to form bonds and also relax. 30-40 is pretty mixed. Under 30, they don't get it. They may show up, but they're only physically, and not mentally, present. It's really frustrating to try and bring people into a group and get them to function as a team when they're virtually incapable of communicating and connecting with those around them.