When a relative visited me for a week I did not check in with any online social site. This proved to me I was only "selectively" addicted. That is, when alone I would turn to cyberspace, but with someone in front of me in real time I felt no need.

It is personal. From the feedback here on Psych Central it seems that there are some people who prefer online, such as some aspies and some with autism. They made their points very well. For them, I am glad the technology exists. I am not aspie or autistic and I don't find technology that thrilling. But real life also has its problems.

The suggestions people make for getting connected in the real world don't make much sense to me. I have never met anyone in a coffee shop. I know meditators and church people but usually it is context specific, that is, seeing them during services or group meditation. I have not gone regularly to one gym, but that might be an experiment. I have made work friends, but again it is usually context specific. Meaning, one doesn't usually see them a lot out of the work environment.Also, some work people have wanted to become friends but I didn't like them that much. I considered them people I worked with, but not really close friends, or even friends. If you quit the job and move on, well, you usually lose touch with work friends, anyway. That's why I don't like to invest a lot emotionally in work friendships.

The real world is often superficial, context specific, and worse, rife with conflict. This is why people end up with only a few close friends in addition to their partner.

I would say, for certain, getting connected in the real world takes a huge amount of effort. It doesn't often happen that casually or accidentally one finds friends. One has to become engaged on every level, and stay engaged, to have friends. One has to get out of the house a lot. Since I have always been a homebody this is difficult for me.

I was well connected but my recent 18 month depression caused me to become disconnected. Now I have to start all over again. Use it or lose it, as the saying goes.

It is just like being online here on Psych Central. To interact you have to read a lot of threads, and make a lot of posts. If you stop you will find that people are not responding to you that much.

When I had a dog I had my greatest fun being with my dog and we did everything together. She was my best friend. When she died I realized because I had spent all my time with her I had lost my connection to people. Truth be told, I preferred my dog's company over the company of people anytime. She was the best, most gentle, funniest and most darling dog. Everyone loved her. She was the most loving being. But dogs only live from 12 to 15 years, and life is much longer.