We live in a generation that calls socializing as friendship.

This isn’t a story about how friends are made and how the birth of a new friendship happens. It’s a piece that throws some light on this generation’s mindset, which thinks that being social is same as being friends.

The youth these days, and sometimes, even the adults in their late 40s have forgotten what friends and friendship are about. They often consider sitting at the best club with loud music and a lot of footfall at 2 am as being friends with the people they were with, in the first place.

If that's what you think, you are mistaken. Sadly, this is only about being social. Socializing is about being with people who you don’t know and yet, feel comfortable enough around them to discuss random topics. These random topics vary from age group to age group. In case of youngsters, it can vary from where the next big party in town is or about the girl/guy that's checking them out. Whereas, for the adults between 35-45, it can be politics, sports or other issues. Either way, it's just about a small talk at a public place where everybody comes in with a silver spoon in their mouth.

Imagine the same people around you talking about life. By life, I mean those deep conversations you have with an old school friend who's not been in town for the last 2 years and still struggling to get his life on track.

Isn’t that the kind of bond friends share? Having those interactions that have a soul?

The idea of the MNC culture revolving around 9 to 5 has made everybody so prone to going out with new people that they consider that being social with someone is equivalent to being friends with them. The truth is, on a Friday night, when you know it's a two-day off, you tend to make plans and when your real friends can’t make it, you plan it anyway. That's how friendship works nowadays.

Not to deny the fact that socializing may help you make friends but being social does not always ensure that the particular person/group will become your friend.

Contrary to popular belief, the idea of being social doesn't mean you have a lot of friends, but only implies that you have none.

Most of us would prefer a long deep conversation over a coffee table or even in a bar with a soothing music or maybe clubbing at times, but only if it were with friends.

With socializing, it is different. A bar, a bunch of unknown people, and music loud enough that you can dance the night away if the company isn't fun. That’s what it is, to sum it up.

To conclude, even though being friends and being social might seem the same, that void which socializing creates will always remain, unless you are with a real friend.  

So, forget the misconception that you are off partying with a friend at a club at 4 am. It's just somebody you went out with because you wanted to vent out on a Saturday night as your job sucks or maybe, all your friends were busy.

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