Hi u@93,
As an introvert myself, I understand the social challenges we face.
It is never a waste of time. We are social creatures and meant to have connections.
Why do you think your friends don’t care?
Where have you been trying to meet people? It can make a huge difference where you meet people. What about joining a club? You’ll meet people with similar interests, which will make it much easier to build a connection.
So what do you think it was that made you discontent with the people you met?
Keep on trying. There are many interesting people in the world that you will meet. Just keep putting yourself out there and it will be only a matter of time.
Do you know the type of people you want to meet? What type of associations do you want to keep? If you have an idea of the type of friends you want to surround yourself with, then you can start planning on where to go to meet such people. If you like antiques, for example, then go to an antique store and strike conversations about antiques. If you like painting, same thing. Sports… you got!
If you go to a place of common interests, that makes a good conversation starter. For example, I go to the local New and Used store, especially looking for vintage furniture, ornaments, and many other things. I’ll grab a coffee for myself and a lady that works there and we’ll chat for hours. I also strike conversations with the customers because the store is an easy conversation starter.
Funny story… I often get people thinking that I work there. The other day, this customer and I was chatting. After a while, we were talking about some items she was interested in, as she just moved to the area and wanted something for the house. She asked me if I could reach the item on the wall for her. When I handed it to her, she handed me money. I said, “what’s that for?” I thought she was paying me for grabbing the item for her
It turns out she thought I worked there. When I told her I didn’t, we both started cracking up. This ended up going into other conversations and having a good laugh, even well after about other things.
The point is, if you keep putting yourself out there, then at the right place and right time, you’ll be bound to meet people you connect with that can end up as friendships.
For now, you can always find friends on here that you can possibly connect with. Although, online friends shouldn’t be a replacement for finding offline friends, as some people have the custom.