Social Recreation

Our Aspie Insiders recently had a discussion about "social recreation," a term used for something that many people have a lot of experience with: spending time with friends.  Rather than just telling funny "hang out" stories, we got down to business and identified the purpose of social recreation — what it can offer us, why we need it, and how we actually go about doing it.

We started with the really big question of why social recreation is important, and here's what our Insiders had to say:

• Social recreation is important because it helps us make friends, keep friends, and socialize. 
• Many people use social recreation as a way to "network" for professional purposes.
• Social recreation can give us a relaxed atmosphere in which to practice social skills — it’s always easier to try something out when you're around people you know.
• Social recreation helps us catch up with the people who are important to us, whether they be friends, family members, or coworkers.

So, social recreation is more than just "hanging out and having fun."  Of course, this is usually what happens in the process of meeting up with friends, but it's important to remember that this idea — of simply calling up friends, making plans, and hanging out —  doesn't come naturally for everyone.  For people with certain social challenges, this can be a huge obstacle in life.  Many of us are quick to send a few texts here or there and go see a movie with a group of friends (in fact, most people probably wish they had more time to do that!), but for some of us it's not that simple.  With that said, our Insiders offered some tips on how to make social recreation a part of one's life:

• When you first meet someone and and decide they would make a good friend, make sure you get in touch and stay in touch (Facebook, phone, email, video games/computer games, etc.).  Make sure you don’t overdo this, however — you can wait for the other person to return a message or phone call.
• Remember that social recreation doesn’t always have to be just meeting up to talk.  While social interaction is a critical part of being a healthy human being, approaching the "art" of hanging out like this can be overwhelming, especially if you're not used to spending time with people.  Instead, consider doing something like watching a movie or playing a board game (hopefully something that everyone can agree on!).
• It pays to be deliberate!  One of our members talked about a friend he met through boxing, saying that he initiated a conversation and friendship but didn’t followup because he didn’t want to be annoying.  While this was good perspective-taking, it's worth noting that keeping up with friends (both new and old) is very important.
• Social recreation can take planning, and the more people you invite, the harder it is to coordinate.  With today’s technology, events can be scheduled with ease and invitations can be sent out to many people at a time (with Facebook, for instance).

One last thing we should add is that social recreation sometimes takes a lot of work.  This is why being deliberate with social recreation is so important.  For many college students who live on campus, the idea of "hanging out" is not a foreign concept at all — between roommates, friends, classmates, and even family members, the next chance to spend time with people is usually right around the corner.  For people who aren't in college or don't have as many of those social interactions, it oftentimes requires planning, time management, and confidence.  Social recreation can sometimes take a bit of work, but it's always worth it!

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