Slip away

There are many different approaches to leaving a social situation or ending a conversation.
The approach I find the most amusing is called the "Irish exit" which unfortunately is only really defined in urbanDictionary but essentially it is to slip away without telling anyone.  I have only done that once many years ago at the end of a Soompi meet. We ate kbbq and in the end I attempted to let them know I was taking off and not joining them for whatever events after and I don't know if the message was ever relayed. Group meets are hard and at times it seems like the best thing to do to just escape the situation. Although honestly I wouldn't mind going to another if it happens again. It's a weird group where we all "know" each other and I might have been the only one who didn't actually embrace it and go along to actually get to know them beyond what they look like.  That's deviating from the topic.

In the past I didn't consider it a big deal when I slipped away to do something.  I always had the mentality of I will be back when I am back and the reason I go away is insignificant. Maybe it rubbed off on me or I just took it for granted but I appreciate when I see the away message when you are away. Even the idle message is adequate for expressing status.  Lately I know I have had a bad tendency to go idle then offline when I fall asleep from boredom.

I get the feeling there is a massive conspiracy going on. Everyone just goes away for five minutes to hours without warning.  Google essentially disabled the option to go "away" or "online" with the new version of the chat app.  People regularly go away and respond while away.

The reason I started this post about the Irish exit is to make a point about how that sort of exit would work.  In a large group your presence is not important.  It's like the most interesting man in the world you can be the life of the party without actually being there. But here's the thing... the type of chat I'm talking about is one on one.  You shouldn't just go away or go offline in the middle of a conversation. If the conversation was quiet for a few minutes... go.  The conversation died.  You are no longer the focus.

But if we factor the following:
Availability defines importance - someone who is always around is less attractive than someone you must chase
Control and power - the person who has the least to lose has the most power
Priorities - maybe you are simply not important, time is money and they might have a billion dollar account on the line
Age - perhaps everyone has outgrew the internet and I'm too old school to realize it

We can easily conclude the most logical thing to do is to go with the flow and mimic what I see and experience.  By being constantly available and responsive I have put myself in a position where I seem unamusing and old.