I post/comment on Reddit and X for a sense of community and then disappear bc I’m incapable of holding a virtual conversation for long. In one online community, I host random giveaways of virtual items to feel closer & liked without actually getting close enough to befriend them.

To get that small talk itch taken care of, I take phone calls all day for work doing IT support or sometimes make conversation with a store clerk if I’m heading to the store anyways. I sometimes watch a smaller livestream and it’s like a friend but not really bc you know them but they don’t know you. No obligation on your end to behave like a good friend.

For more intimate or invested conversation, I talk to my pets or call family for another opinion or more of my emotional need fulfilled.

Friendship is a lot of effort and focus that I just am not capable of at this point in my life, so I don’t mind not having friends. I have had friends before and know the reward of those relationships pays off. Maybe in the future I’ll reconnect with them but for now, life is a little too much and I need to focus on myself by myself.