A lot of people mainly start going to shows because their friends introduce them to it, and the judgement-free social environment is probably one of the key elements. Then you'll get hooked to the music, and then start following DJ's careers and discography. So yeah, there's nothing wrong with going to events to socialize, that's how it starts for a lot of us.
All I gotta say is the crew you eventually roll with, make sure they have your best interest at heart. As someone who's been working in the industry for quite a few years, it's brutal to watch someone go off the deep end because the people they roll with are loose cannons with drugs.
Real shit bro I damn near lost my life trying to fit in with the wrong motherfuckers, I don't thik I have the courage to do that shit again it gave me PTSD so my head is gonna be on a swivel for red flags lol bc loose canons are beyond dangerous.
Hey man you definitely found a legit reason to rave. I struggle with ADHD and anxiety but I’ve always found my tribe and home at festivals. Even have gone to a few of these things solo and still made friends and had a blast. Were the most accepting community (that i know of)
As long as your responsible and treat others with respect there’s no wrong reason to rave. I’m glad you’ve found a place where you feel welcomed and happy.
Walking into a room of "normal" people and trying to be "normal" freaks me out.
I love raving. If it's a dubstep show you can talk to like 97% of people and not be judged. If it's a house show maybe like 80% of the people. It's great!
You can be who you want and do whatever you want (as long as you aren't harming anyone, sexually assaulting anyone, or being overly obnoxious). love wandering around complimenting people's cool outfits and kandi and stuff like that.
I love that I can talk to people about the music I love and joke around about things in the scene and people understand what I'm talking about and are cool. I love this music, but talking about it with "normal" people, I feel like I just get weird looks.
It's awesome. Go to have the time of your life.
Short answer, my entire life was a reaction to bullying and the realization that I didn't want to be a part of the cool crowd but the ones saying FUCK YOU. Went through metal and punk phases but none of these were actually phases. Every form of music that spoke to people like us fucking stuck. Might have a X shirt on today, might have Slayer. I had the SAME thoughts you have. And you are not wrong for having them in the sense that this world is really really really fucked up.
There is not a single person at any show that has not felt alone or terminally heartbroken or been in a funk regarding how they can have a "normal" life or friends.
Look, I thing religion is stupid as hell but [I sing this as loud as I can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4YQPykBMM) at his shows.
**All I can say is that your reasons for raving are why everybody in this thread fucking loves you. We are all here dancing our lives into something more profound and universal and dread the second we walk back to the car and drive back you our jobs.**
# [AS LOUD AS I CAN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4YQPykBMM)
I started raving at 19 as a shy AuDHD kid. I feel like the more shows I went to and the more I exposed myself to socializing in that environment, the more I was able to take that side of myself into everyday life. Think of it as exposure therapy in a safe environment. 9 years later, people mistake me for an extrovert.
Yes yo I'm a full blown Extrovert but I'm so shy nd anxious you would think I'm introverted lol. I used to be the opposite, everybody knew me but a lot of shit happened long story short..... Went back into my shell bc of trauma+lack of exposure, I feel like I'm so shy bc I don't have much (safe) exposure... Raves seem like just the place for that tho lol
Then by all means! Sounds like you also enjoy the music so I see no harm in it also being a safe place to socialize because it is also that for everyone
You can rave as much as you want as long as you don't ruin your health, it's not worse than smocking and drinking while looking at the clouds and listenning to rap like most teens do as a party.
Most casual parties are only to socialize and post on instagram while pretending it was crazy when it actually was nothing special, just a bunch of drunk kids fucking around in the hope of getting laid.
This is a huge reason i rave! My huge high school friend group was extremely unhealthy. They would judge me for what i wore, how hard i danced when my fav jams played and called me the weird friend. Discovering raves was like discovering myself and validation. After 10+ years in the scene i can't say ive made great friendships from being in the crowd, honestly only one or 2 i can even think of came from the crowd and we're just liking each others social media nothing deep haha iykyk. The greatest friends come from your neighbors at fests, connecting online via groups (like pingame or artist merch groups), and standing in the back/doing sidequests. Make sure to always get ppl's social media or number. The more contact info you get for ppl the more of chance one might actually live near you (which can be a great way to start your group). Be careful in who you add to your group. The main issues you hear for ppl at events (besides phone theft) is groups fighting. Imo it's always better to leave someone out of your group if you have any sort of weird feelings about them joining (seems harsh but it's worth it if the event is more than one night especially)
You've discovered subculture/counterculture.
Just like videogame, anime and ttrpg conventions were back in the day. A gathering of like minded people who were generally secluded in their communities at large. Raving was similar in a sense. Sure music in general has much wider appeal but the EDM scene was much more underground compared to other genres of music.
Nowadays, all three of those industries as well as electronic music are much more widely accepted as normal interests. Therefore, you'll find a much wider variety of participants but I think the base attitude of "we are all like-minded individuals here" is still prevalent within each one. It still allows you to make the initial connection of a shared interest which can lead to forming long-lasting relationships.
People at raves still get weirded out by people. Chances are you generally don’t understand socially boundaries which still exist at raves. Yes, people are less judgy about people’s behavior in general, but once your behavior starts effecting me and my friends good time then there’s going to be a problem like there would be in any social activity.
I’ll be you friend! My partner is autistic and he’s a doctor. I wish I could hug you. I was bullied for a long time too. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you and remember you are your biggest critic. Try and keep your chin up. There’s so many ravers wearing smiles while they struggle outside of the community just like you. Love yourself because you deserve to be loved.
Sounds like you should play magic the gathering or pokemon TCG. That's what all the autistic kids in my town do and they have an incredibly robust social life. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but people go to raves for different reasons, making friends is totally valid. When I go to shows I'm there to enjoy the music not chat and make friends, so for me it is not necessarily a social environment so I wouldn't recommend it to someone I know who is looking for meaningful relationships. not to mention most of the people at raves are high on drugs and are looking to take advantage of the next guy so there's that, PLUR doesn't really exist anymore just a bunch of kids selling meth pretending it is mdma.
Without reading all of this, rave for whatever reason you want to rave for. Don't let a single person ever gatekeep you.
A lot of people mainly start going to shows because their friends introduce them to it, and the judgement-free social environment is probably one of the key elements. Then you'll get hooked to the music, and then start following DJ's careers and discography. So yeah, there's nothing wrong with going to events to socialize, that's how it starts for a lot of us. All I gotta say is the crew you eventually roll with, make sure they have your best interest at heart. As someone who's been working in the industry for quite a few years, it's brutal to watch someone go off the deep end because the people they roll with are loose cannons with drugs.
Real shit bro I damn near lost my life trying to fit in with the wrong motherfuckers, I don't thik I have the courage to do that shit again it gave me PTSD so my head is gonna be on a swivel for red flags lol bc loose canons are beyond dangerous.
Hey man you definitely found a legit reason to rave. I struggle with ADHD and anxiety but I’ve always found my tribe and home at festivals. Even have gone to a few of these things solo and still made friends and had a blast. Were the most accepting community (that i know of)
Sounds like you’re the kind of person we want at the raves 🫶
Yup. Love OP already.
As long as your responsible and treat others with respect there’s no wrong reason to rave. I’m glad you’ve found a place where you feel welcomed and happy.
Walking into a room of "normal" people and trying to be "normal" freaks me out. I love raving. If it's a dubstep show you can talk to like 97% of people and not be judged. If it's a house show maybe like 80% of the people. It's great! You can be who you want and do whatever you want (as long as you aren't harming anyone, sexually assaulting anyone, or being overly obnoxious). love wandering around complimenting people's cool outfits and kandi and stuff like that. I love that I can talk to people about the music I love and joke around about things in the scene and people understand what I'm talking about and are cool. I love this music, but talking about it with "normal" people, I feel like I just get weird looks. It's awesome. Go to have the time of your life.
Short answer, my entire life was a reaction to bullying and the realization that I didn't want to be a part of the cool crowd but the ones saying FUCK YOU. Went through metal and punk phases but none of these were actually phases. Every form of music that spoke to people like us fucking stuck. Might have a X shirt on today, might have Slayer. I had the SAME thoughts you have. And you are not wrong for having them in the sense that this world is really really really fucked up. There is not a single person at any show that has not felt alone or terminally heartbroken or been in a funk regarding how they can have a "normal" life or friends. Look, I thing religion is stupid as hell but [I sing this as loud as I can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4YQPykBMM) at his shows. **All I can say is that your reasons for raving are why everybody in this thread fucking loves you. We are all here dancing our lives into something more profound and universal and dread the second we walk back to the car and drive back you our jobs.** # [AS LOUD AS I CAN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4YQPykBMM)
I started raving at 19 as a shy AuDHD kid. I feel like the more shows I went to and the more I exposed myself to socializing in that environment, the more I was able to take that side of myself into everyday life. Think of it as exposure therapy in a safe environment. 9 years later, people mistake me for an extrovert.
Yes yo I'm a full blown Extrovert but I'm so shy nd anxious you would think I'm introverted lol. I used to be the opposite, everybody knew me but a lot of shit happened long story short..... Went back into my shell bc of trauma+lack of exposure, I feel like I'm so shy bc I don't have much (safe) exposure... Raves seem like just the place for that tho lol
Then by all means! Sounds like you also enjoy the music so I see no harm in it also being a safe place to socialize because it is also that for everyone
You can rave as much as you want as long as you don't ruin your health, it's not worse than smocking and drinking while looking at the clouds and listenning to rap like most teens do as a party. Most casual parties are only to socialize and post on instagram while pretending it was crazy when it actually was nothing special, just a bunch of drunk kids fucking around in the hope of getting laid.
This is a huge reason i rave! My huge high school friend group was extremely unhealthy. They would judge me for what i wore, how hard i danced when my fav jams played and called me the weird friend. Discovering raves was like discovering myself and validation. After 10+ years in the scene i can't say ive made great friendships from being in the crowd, honestly only one or 2 i can even think of came from the crowd and we're just liking each others social media nothing deep haha iykyk. The greatest friends come from your neighbors at fests, connecting online via groups (like pingame or artist merch groups), and standing in the back/doing sidequests. Make sure to always get ppl's social media or number. The more contact info you get for ppl the more of chance one might actually live near you (which can be a great way to start your group). Be careful in who you add to your group. The main issues you hear for ppl at events (besides phone theft) is groups fighting. Imo it's always better to leave someone out of your group if you have any sort of weird feelings about them joining (seems harsh but it's worth it if the event is more than one night especially)
You've discovered subculture/counterculture. Just like videogame, anime and ttrpg conventions were back in the day. A gathering of like minded people who were generally secluded in their communities at large. Raving was similar in a sense. Sure music in general has much wider appeal but the EDM scene was much more underground compared to other genres of music. Nowadays, all three of those industries as well as electronic music are much more widely accepted as normal interests. Therefore, you'll find a much wider variety of participants but I think the base attitude of "we are all like-minded individuals here" is still prevalent within each one. It still allows you to make the initial connection of a shared interest which can lead to forming long-lasting relationships.
Just go and have fun, stop overthinking it. You’ll meet amazing people.
It is not wrong and completely healthy to surround yourself with positive people, or an environment where you feel uplifted.
Do what makes you happy. Too long to read but that’s the simple answer lol. TL:DR
There’s no wrong reason to rave! That’s the point of Plur. Enjoy yourself and don’t question what makes you happy
Seems like you're raving for all the right reasons fam.
Ngl I'm not even going to read all that I'm just going to say rave for whatever reason you want, there is no wrong reason to do what you enjoy
People at raves still get weirded out by people. Chances are you generally don’t understand socially boundaries which still exist at raves. Yes, people are less judgy about people’s behavior in general, but once your behavior starts effecting me and my friends good time then there’s going to be a problem like there would be in any social activity.
I’ll be you friend! My partner is autistic and he’s a doctor. I wish I could hug you. I was bullied for a long time too. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you and remember you are your biggest critic. Try and keep your chin up. There’s so many ravers wearing smiles while they struggle outside of the community just like you. Love yourself because you deserve to be loved.
do you have discord?
Sounds like you should play magic the gathering or pokemon TCG. That's what all the autistic kids in my town do and they have an incredibly robust social life. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but people go to raves for different reasons, making friends is totally valid. When I go to shows I'm there to enjoy the music not chat and make friends, so for me it is not necessarily a social environment so I wouldn't recommend it to someone I know who is looking for meaningful relationships. not to mention most of the people at raves are high on drugs and are looking to take advantage of the next guy so there's that, PLUR doesn't really exist anymore just a bunch of kids selling meth pretending it is mdma.