It’s a paradox that affects people from every walk of life: you want a more robust social circle, but you also hate talking to strangers. Unless you’re one of those gifted individuals who can charm the socks off of everyone they meet, social confidence probably isn’t something that you have a lot of. Going further with that assumption, it could be that even though you don’t have much social confidence, you wish you had more. But how can you make that happen?
There are plenty of different ways, but random video chatting with a site like CamGo is by far one of the easiest options. Nobody expects you to be particularly clever or eloquent on a random video chat, and you can start over with a new chat anytime you want. Since you’re typically anonymous on these types of websites, you could literally make the worst faux pas you can imagine with zero social consequences. Simply hit the “next” button, and the person who just witnessed you will disappear from your life forever. There’s a feeling of security in knowing that no matter what you do, there’s always someone else who’s ready to chat with you.
Now let’s get down to brass tacks. How exactly can random video chatting build up the way you see yourself in social contexts?
You can see that you aren’t the only one who’s occasionally awkward.
Maybe this sounds suspiciously like a consolation prize, but it can be genuinely helpful for someone who’s under-socialized to see that they aren’t the crow in a world filled with peacocks. While you might actually be out-of-practice in terms of having lively conversations with strangers, it could boost your self-image to see that this is actually a normal thing to experience.
You can find it easier to come out of your shell if people are more comfortable sharing about themselves.
A pretty big source of anxiety surrounding social interactions is the thought that you could try talking to someone, but fail to make a connection. With random video chats, though, it’s more common for the people you talk with to meet you half-way.
This isn’t necessarily because they’re just nicer than the people you meet in real life; it’s mostly because the unique format of random chats makes it easier for them to speak freely about their occupations, interests, or dreams. As you get more involved in what they’re saying, you could find it easier to talk about your own experiences, and voila – you’re suddenly in the middle of a great conversation.
You can set your own terms for every random chat.
Another great confidence-booster is that you can participate in random video chats whenever you want, instead of having to show up to someone else’s event at a certain time. This may sound like a psychological quibble, but it can definitely make you feel more in-control. If you see it as an optional source of entertainment, instead of a social obligation, it won’t be stuck in your mind as something you have to do – instead, it’s something you want to do.
Once you’ve started random chatting, you can be as choosy as you want in terms of who you talk to. Unlike trying to find your place among already-established friend groups in a social setting, random chat sites let you can click through as many users as you want in order to find someone you like.
You can broaden your worldview by meeting people from different countries.
If you aren’t sure how this could boost your confidence, that probably just means you haven’t experienced it yet. There’s something special about the exchange of cultural knowledge; it helps you realize how big the world truly is, like you’re developing a more complete context for your own life.
You can bond with people without ever feeling like you’re over-committing.
It’s one thing to wish you had a confidant, but it’s another thing to actually develop a relationship to that point. Random video chats offer a stepping-stone to friendship by providing people who want to act as your friend for as long as the chat lasts. While you should always avoid sharing personal details like your name, address, email, etc., it’s totally fine to share aspects of your life like personal triumphs, life goals, or even the reason why you’ve been feeling blue.
The ability to share this kind of thing with strangers can definitely help you blow off some emotional steam. Then, when you meet people in real life, you’re less likely to over-share and then try to compensate by clamming up.
You can try new things without wondering whether you’ll raise eyebrows.
A lot of social inhibitions come from the subconscious awareness that the people we know expect us to behave a certain way. Even if you feel like you’re more of a person than the box that people have put you in, it’s tricky to break away from that sometimes. If you start moving away from those expectations, but don’t quite pull it off the first time around, that could make any further attempts even more difficult.
With random video chats, however, you don’t have to deal with preconceived ideas about the kind of person you are. You have the potential to re-invent yourself for each new chat if you wanted, and nobody would have a clue that you weren’t just acting the way you always do. If you can use video chatting as a venue for being more authentic, that will eventually translate to your experiences in the real world.
These are just a few ways in which random video chats can improve your confidence.
If you’ve been wishing for better social skills, but weren’t sure how to develop them, consider random video chats to be your cheat code. Even if you feel a bit shy at first, don’t worry. Chances are, that’ll wear off after just a few chats, and once that happens, all that’s left to do is talk to your new friends to your heart’s content!
