Wednesday, July 9, 2008

properly socialized

i was homeschooled.

my poor mother. every few days or so: "aren't you worried that they won't be properly socialized?"
that infamous question burned into every homeschooler's mind, coupled with the fear that their child will grow up to be a dumpy math whiz with a stutter and shyness rivalling wall-e.

i am now 21. i'm very good with names, know 90% of our 500 member and growing church (and they know me), have good friends in all age groups, and am active on more social networking sites than all my friends put together.
but .... i don't have many close friends, i don't tend to connect well with other women, and i don't hang out with acquaintances in my demographic very often.

am i properly socialized?
what are the indicators of "proper socialization"?

i'm curious to hear y'all's thoughts....

3 comments:

Tim and Heidi Thomas said...

I think you're pretty cool. Wanna hang out sometime? Oh, you're in my demographic though....but I think we're more than acquaintances....

Maybe we should talk about your issues over coffee sometime in the near future?

;) Heidi

lani said...

actualol heidi!
wow.

k, but you didn't answer my question re: indicators of proper socialization ... i honestly had a legit reason for asking it, seriously.

i've been thinking about what it means to be "socialized" in a global age.
if a person with very little interpersonal skill can become immensely popular through online social networking - are they they "socialized"? how archaic is actual human contact?

jus' thinkin... and using myself as an example.

Tim and Heidi Thomas said...

Okay, fair enough question. So, here's my two cents...(but remember, I really have no research to prove my thoughts, so this is potentially useless :) )

I don't think that one can assume they're socialized by just having a gazillion different online social networks they are "popular" on. I think it creates a false sense of popularity, and makes the person assume they don't need friendships in the physical form.

Now, as to how "many" friendships one needs in the physical form is something I don't think anyone can answer, as I believe it is different for everyone. I am very social and more extraverted, but as you know, I only maintain a few close friends at a time well.

I don't believe human contact is archaic. I believe it serves a deeper purpose, and that God has given us that need for people in the physical form.

As fun as facebook, myspace, twitter, and all of the rest are...I don't think they should be replacing solid friendships in the physical form. As for networking and learning of new people on different social levels, facebook and the like are great for that. I would have never reconnected with some of my "friends" had it not been for facebook.

There's my condensed version on this matter. We can talk more about this tonight, if you like! :)

Love ya,
Heidi