> If I'm bored, I need to be social and hang out with someone; I can't waste time playing video games or watching TV. (I'm fortunately pretty sparse with my computer use — GChat, vim, and music mostly.)
Why are other people the magic fix for everything? Hanging out with people can be just as much of a waste of time as watching Paradise Hotel, or whatever. If you walk over to your friends place for three years and hang out with the same three people every day, what has that given you? Maybe it was fun, but did you grow as a person and expand your mind? Or did you crack the same old jokes and references from the same cult movies that you've always done, and whine about the same problems that you had yesterday and still are doing nothing about, and bicker about something on the comical Seinfeld-level of pettiness?
"But it is it's own reward". Yes, but the same can be said for video games, computers, TV, or whatever else we've decided to label as "bad", probably because we are either 1. know nothing about it 2. did it in excess and now think it is the devil.
That's the beauty of a fresh summer, right? I'm meeting new people all the time, making new friends, etc. Even if I socialize with people I already know, there is always an adventure to be had. I'm about to start my thirteenth week ever in California, and I'm very fortunate and privileged to be able to explore all that the Bay Area has to offer with friends, old and new.
All of this breaks the monotony.
Plus, there's something to be said for human interaction and contact comfort and whatnot. So what if I see an old friend and we reminisce about old times, maybe crack some inside jokes? Being with others is psychologically healthy.
I'm not arguing that everyone should pull a Walden. I myself will be moving into my fraternity next week, which has a television and an Xbox 360 (the horror!) and a beer pong table. But I'm certainly living in one extreme this summer, and if I had to choose, I'd definitely choose this one.
Why are other people the magic fix for everything? Hanging out with people can be just as much of a waste of time as watching Paradise Hotel, or whatever. If you walk over to your friends place for three years and hang out with the same three people every day, what has that given you? Maybe it was fun, but did you grow as a person and expand your mind? Or did you crack the same old jokes and references from the same cult movies that you've always done, and whine about the same problems that you had yesterday and still are doing nothing about, and bicker about something on the comical Seinfeld-level of pettiness?
"But it is it's own reward". Yes, but the same can be said for video games, computers, TV, or whatever else we've decided to label as "bad", probably because we are either 1. know nothing about it 2. did it in excess and now think it is the devil.