I'm not interested in being popular and capturing the attention of others in any way, but I don't like it when I'm treated like I don't exist and be ignored when I speak or when I present myself. I avoid people and most social situations because I want to avoid being hurt, but it seems that I sometimes forget this. You might think by exposing myself and allowing myself to be hurt I can develop resilience or "thick skin" for social setbacks, but I'm not. I honestly have stopped trying to socialize in the real world. I haven't stepped out of my apartment for the last 4 days. I just go out to buy groceries once a week or so. Now I feel these setbacks are happening to me through the virtual world where I live. I don't understand why. Sometimes I think I may have a fundamental problem in communicating with people, even in the virtual world.