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"Interacting with people is a waste of time!"
"It would be far more productive to sit in front of my computer aimlessly wandering the Internet!"
A more frightening version of this: "Therapists are useless! I'd rather get help from anonymous unqualified people on the Internet!"
Comments
"I think it's more 'I can't afford therapists and dislike the social stigma of having one so I'd rather get help from anonymous unqualified people on the internet.'"
Yeah, that's what most people say (give or take "anonymous" and "Internet", and maybe "unqualified". And it can be valid because not every problem requires a therapist, though if it's serious, it's highly recommended.). But I put "frightening" because I have seen the OP version many times.
I think it's often that on some level people don't really want to have to do the things they know they'll have to do to solve their problems, and which a good therapist would make them do. It's easier to get sympathy from anonymous people about not having friends because you're cripplingly shy, for example, than trying to overcome that shyness.
The "I really don't want social interaction" thing is a kind of cousin to the "I'm asexual" thing. There are a few people who are genuinely OK as recluses, but I think for most people who say this, it's a defence mechanism against the perceived shame of being friendless.
I can easily cope with a day on my own i.e. with no real-life social interaction beyond maybe buying something in a shop. More than that, I don't really enjoy. I try and have at least one social thing set up for a weekend (I have work during the week).
Having said that, I do also often feel the need to be on my own again after a period with others.
Overall, Tvtropes's "Insecurity, Sadness, Anxiety, and Other Matters" thread, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking of Everest's thread the other day.
Now I remember why I avoided that thread while I was still on the site.
I think it's often that on some level people don't really want to have to do the things they know they'll have to do to solve their problems, and which a good therapist would make them do. It's easier to get sympathy from anonymous people about not having friends because you're cripplingly shy, for example, than trying to overcome that shyness.
I think that is certainly the case in many situations and I do not disagree about how that can be problematic. Still, I feel like there are other situations in which people simply do not feel comfortable having face-to-face conversations about some of their issues because they are incredibly personal, are not necessarily considered socially acceptable, or are pretty tough to talk about in real life for some other reason. For some personal issues like sexual abuse, I think that being able to talk to someone anonymously can be pretty beneficial.
That being said, just because it can be helpful to talk about some issues anonymously does not mean that it always is helpful. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to be equally adept at giving advice and sometimes I feel like online conversations can suffer greatly from a lack of context (i.e. it is kind of tough to give good advice when you do not really know the full circumstances). I agree with Abyss_Worm about this kind of thing being frightening sometimes though. For example, I have found some of what I have heard people say to those contemplating suicide quite disturbing.
As for the "Anxiety" topic, I feel like it can sometimes have problems being an overly depressing and hopeless environment and I do not believe its status as the single megathread for talking about one's problems is conducive to helping to actually solve them. However, I do not follow it very closely, so my opinion on it probably should be taken with a grain of salt.
most people who say this, it's a defence mechanism against the
perceived shame of being friendless.
This, I can personally attest to. Most people who look down on social interaction probably don't know what it's like to have friends, real friends.
I thought Everest's thread was more about how he felt he needed more interesting friends, rather than being happy with none at all.
I used to visit the TV Tropes Anxiety thread quite a lot at one point. My take on it was that it was about fifty-fifty people who really needed genuine professional help and people who really needed a kick up the pants. I think Cygan did pretty well to keep her temper with one or two.