How can I be more confident around people?

Eh, I have the same problem, you may have social anxiety (social phobia). I've just kept to myself the last 4 years, almost complete isolation apart from socializing with my family and people online, which I do a lot. As for face to face confrontations though, I've avoided them for years, but now it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to contain myself, I feel an overwhelming urge to go out and find a girlfriend, possibly even new friends. My 2 biggest problems are that I don't like socializing with ignorant or brain-dead people which our modern society seems to be full of, and I'm always too worried about making the wrong impression and not expressing myself and portraying myself in a manner that I feel is necessary. What I would suggest to you, which has worked nicely for me the past week, just take care of yourself and always be polite. Make sure you're clean and looking good every-time you go out to socialize, and keep a smile on your face, the smile does a lot more then you realize. Start jogging daily, make small talk with people while you're jogging/walking. Just keep practicing and eventually you'll feel more and more comfortable socializing. Good luck.