Things have gotten bad.
I’m 28. For my whole adult life, I’ve worked as either a restaurant server or a journalist. Naturally, I have always been excellent at getting along with people.
I recently moved to a new city and have been trying to go out and build connections, but I’ve realized that somewhere along the line I lost all of my social skills.
I’m no longer pleasant. It’s hard to smile at strangers and make friendly conversation. I haven’t gotten into a single chat that I found pleasant since I moved here three months ago. I mean, I used to be the cheesy, smiley guy everyone loved.
I don’t know what happened, and I feel like I’ll never know, but I’m curious if this has happened to anybody else and if maybe, juuuust maybe, it gets better.
Thanks y’all.
5 comments
You’re just out of practice. It was the same for me but I got a part time job working the front desk at my gym and now that I’m talking to tons of people everyday I’ve improved incredibly quickly and smile so much more.
Yeah covid wreaked havoc on humanity’s social skills. Everybody was way more isolated than before.
Yes!!! The pandemic killed me here. It’s gotten a little better but when I’m off I’m really off.
I’ve noticed that it’s had a bit to do with isolation for me. Are you rusty from not talking to people all day? Because I’ve found some small success in calling friends or family sometime before venturing out; gets those social skill muscles flexed
Having always been a loner, I work at a warehouse and have become way more social just to pass the boring laborous hours by.
Having a costumer service job is amazing for social skills. By the end of the way, the conversation just goes flawlessly out of you, since you’ve been talking to so many people, you don’t even notice you are talking!
Your skills are still there, they are just a bit rusty. I am in the same boat, but what helps me is making sure I enjoy the converstation. Socializing with people is fun, it makes your day, it helps you stay connected, and if you are stressing about it, you’ll rather look at socializing as a performance.
Try to be in a fun mindset, it’s not that serious after all, and we are here to enjoy life:)