If you're inviting me to come hang out, I'm expecting to do things together!

Posting here because it's starting to seem that this is not a very widely shared opinion in my real life spaces. For context, I am a 22 year old male.

I am a doer. It's not so much that I don't know how to relax, it's that I relax by doing things! I have tons of hobbies, and they're all fairly active. I play sports, I go to the gym, I do volunteer work and service, I create music and art. At home in small moments of downtime I am usually tidying, organizing, cleaning, or finding some sort of task to do. I'm not a movie/show watcher, and I'm not a scroller on social media unless it's before bed.

When I invite friends to hang out with me, I plan an activity (and they know in advance). I take my friends rock climbing, skiing, swimming, to scenic areas for a stroll, to a museum, to get food, or even just to go shopping. Everyone is always very upbeat, has a great time, and comes back again. I make a point not to invite someone to tons of very active outings in a short period so I don't exhaust them, of course, but when we hang out, we are always doing something together.

However, when I am invited to hang out, 90% of what they want to do is sit in the same room existing together. It's always just sitting on the couch, either watching a movie or show they put on, or they seem more interested in staring at TikTok on their own phone. It's awkward to me, it's boring, and there's only so much I can engage them in conversation before it's getting boring too. I'm not sure if it's just my generation, I know we grew up in the age of social media, media in general, and phones.

I've started prefacing how I am the second I start making a new friend, and explaining that I will always be down to sit and chat to be a support, but that I am an active person, and if they're the type to want to sit and coexist most of the time, that just isn't who I am. Since doing that, I've found I make longer lasting and better friendships from the start.

But I'm not sure if this is just me! Does anyone else just want to do something other than sit in the same room on our phones?

Posted Mar 8, 2026, 8:03 PM UTC · locked

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