How do people live with no friends?

[xinjun]

People are not really different. Nowadays, people like to think they are different, as modern philosophy has emphasised individualism. For most of human history, that's not how it was. People are all humans. Humans are all more or less the same, and have more or less the same needs. It is foolish to think individual exceptionalism is proper.

I agree with the concept here. However, I do think the concession needs to be made for random mutation. The vast majority are all the same. There are rare exceptions, though. It's when we start using words like "all" and forcing people into molds to which they do not fit that there's a problem.

I do not like socializing with most people. It has taken me many years to come to terms with that instead of thinking there's something "wrong" with me or that I HAVE to socialize because it's needed for all humans. I used to force myself to go to gatherings and was miserable the whole time and guilty if I didn't go and guilty that I didn't enjoy it and.. so much pressure and stress. Now, I accept this part of myself and have peace and I don't need to be told by someone else that hasn't been through what I've been through that I'm fooling myself.

[Luko]

I watch movies a lot.

Actually yeah, this is pretty accurate. Lose yourself in a far off place for 120 minutes. When that's done, watch a few episodes of your favorite show, rinse and repeat during downtime.

[Gamdwelf]

Can I still have somebody explain how having friends makes you any less self sufficient than somebody who does have friends.

[Shangalar]

Not having any friends is not a matter of preference or self-sufficiency at all. It is an excuse. Having friends and social relations is a matter of genetic input in humans, not a matter of choice. The moment you decide to shut everyone out and live in a small confined world, you're effectively creating a psychological excuse that lets you stay in your tiny safe zone because of personal complexes and insecurities. I would love to see a demographic analysis of this, but I guarantee that the majority (not necessarily everyone) of the people who chose the 'zero' option in the friends poll would be young enough to have been raised *on* the Internet instead of *using* the Internet. There will always be exceptions of course, but psychologically speaking no mature individual will have 'zero' friends, as developing social and emotional intelligence is part of the 'becoming mature' process.

Of course, things are different with people who went through some kind of serious trauma that caused trust issues and things are different with people with neurological disorders.

[Deleted]

When you are honest to yourself, you will notice there are only a few real friends. For me, there are two. I cropped the rest off now, and I am absolutely happy with two real friends.