[A_perfect_lady]

I don't know of any time in human history when it was normal not to socialize. That we have, on average, a larger circle of friends now than we did when the average human lived to 30 and never ventured more than 5 miles from home seems quite normal if you look at it logically.

And consider that most people on FR post in hopes of some sort of feedback.

[dagogo redux]

“. . . a larger circle of friends”???

In psychological terminology, these are not what used to be called a “friend,” but are instead merely “self objects.” The tragic emptiness and loneliness of the young people today, whose lives seem so paradoxically “full,” and rich in “friends,” is something I see daily in my practice (psychiatric), and this is what the article is about.

Personally, I come to FR for news and the insights of others. I post here when I do because it pleases me, not because I am looking for “feedback” or “friends” - I often don’t check my “new posts to you” file for days.

I feel sorry for you. If what you’re after in life is a whole lot of “friends” and “feedback,” you’re probably trying to fill something inside you that should not be empty.

Probably not the “feedback” you were hoping for.