Are you a social butterfly? Or do you know someone who is?
Do you even know what a social butterfly is?
What is a Social Butterfly?
Social butterfly is the term often used for describing a highly social person. Although it is not a medical term, most social psychologists acknowledge and understand it with patients and in their work.
The term social butterfly is used for people who are well-liked by others, extroverted, and socially skilled. Social butterflies can make friends easily, fit in well in various situations, and tend to always feel positive.
However, what is often misunderstood is that there is more to being a social butterfly than just a mere personality trait. This is a full-blown lifestyle as well, and something that is not automatically the effortless breeze that it is usually presumed to be. The truth is that being a social butterfly also has its own unique set of challenges that must be navigated and addressed accordingly.
Traits of a Social Butterfly
There are a few traits you have to watch out for to determine if you or someone else is a social butterfly in the first place. To begin with, social butterflies are often charismatic and easygoing. They can simply walk inside a room and strike up a conversation with anyone. Everybody in the room gets smitten by them the moment they leave the room.
One of the key traits of social butterflies is being extroverted. It means that these people are usually talkative, approachable, outgoing, and pleasant.
Social butterflies also tend to have lots of friends with packed social calendars to squeeze in all those conversations. They are more active and sometimes, they can have a socially dominant style when interacting and talking to other people.
Social butterflies are also quite vivacious. It takes tons of energy to be enthusiastic throughout various interactions several times a day, and social butterflies have more of it in store than others.
What Challenges Do Social Butterflies Face?
Even if these outgoing extroverted people have the necessary energy to connect with everyone and anyone in their circle, the life of social butterflies is far from perfect. In fact, it has plenty of challenges, such as the following:
· They tend to be bored.
Since social butterflies flourish in community and togetherness, they may have a hard time accepting that life isn’t always a huge party. The ability to put up with instances of boredom and monotony can make them more successful in other domains.
· They may lack authentic and deep friendships.
Quantity is not always equivalent to quality, and it might be truer in the extended social circles of social butterflies. While they have plenty of friends, these friendships are often more superficial.
· They can make impulsive or risky choices.
While the willingness to take risks may be a positive thing for social butterflies, it can only be so to a certain degree. Once taken further than necessary, these risky choices might make them find themselves in trouble because they tended to be a bit more impulsive than others.
It is also common for social butterflies to say anything that comes to mind. This lack of filter may lead to the occasional social faux pas or the susceptibility to misunderstandings or accidents.
· They refuse to share the spotlight.
Several challenges that social butterflies face have something to do with how they get along with other people in their lives. For example, although they love being the center of attention, sharing the stage with someone else might be difficult for them.
They might not like the spotlight being taken by someone else even if they deserve or need to be there. This can result in some unwanted friction in their personal relationships.
How Do You Get Along with Social Butterflies?
At first, it might be easy to get along with social butterflies. However, over time, it might get tricky. When you feel that the social butterfly you know is always making it seem like everything revolves around them or if they say hurtful things (no matter how unintentional), it is recommended to speak about how you feel regarding them and their actions.
You also need to have some reasonable expectations in place to nurture a long-term friendship with a social butterfly. These people often have more social commitments, and are constantly getting pulled in various directions.
Considering how they are lured by novelty, their desire to hang out in bigger groups, and their broad social networks, they attend lots of social events and have plenty of friends. This may lead to disappointment if you want to spend a one-on-one and intimate time with a social butterfly.
Now that you know what a social butterfly is, you will find it easier to determine if you or someone you know is a social butterfly and how you can successfully interact with one.