this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023
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It's sad how many men don't have friends outside of family and dates.
If that's you, please get friends. If you don't know how, find a hobby where you're likely to interact with other people, and interact with them. Even if it's just smalltalk, that's a start.
No, the solution is to find a hobby you can enjoy with other people in order to find opportunities to make friends.
If I am forcing myself to do it, it's not a hobby. I already have hobbies that I want to do and they take over all of my free time. All of them are best done at home and alone.
If your goal is to make friends and your current way isn't working, you will have to force yourself to change. There just isn't any other way.
Friends don't fall from the sky. You have to put in time and effort in any type of human relationship. That is just how things are.
He didn't say his goal was to make friends. I'm the same way, and I'm happier than I've ever been putting my efforts into myself instead of other people.
This year, I moved to a new city, got a high-paying job, and have been engaging in hobbies such as writing, karaoke, and I'm trying to learn dnd. No local friends yet, but I'll keep at it.
Last year and before, I had a low-paying job that kept me constantly stressed. I went home, played video games with people online, and otherwise wasted my time. My only irl friends were people I worked with and people I knew from high school. I think the advice about hobbies is good. But fighting through depression to a place where you can spend time socializing isn't always as easy as "get hobbies," especially when you're poor.
Yes, the advice is neurotypical because that's how I am, so sorry if it doesn't apply to you completely. I'm no expert on everything, so if you have additional requirements to social interaction, you'll have to consult with somebody who knows instead of me.
That said, surely the following are true regardless:
.
Also, I've never met a person who's unlikable to everyone. Don't sell yourself short.
I've always associated that with being a city thing, because I've lived in cities and suburbs, and I've never been a woman.
In cities, most people won't even say "good morning" back, but in the suburbs, you can strike up a whole conversation with someone just because you're walking in the same direction.
I agree. I live on the very rural Oregon Coast, and everyone here is overly friendly. It's actually kind of exhausting at this point lol. Way different from when I lived in the city. I need to find a good middle ground.
Yeah lemme go to the friend store and pick up a couple lol
Oh damn, fresh outta 35-45 age bracket, as they all have kids and full time jobs that don't match with my days off. Bummer.
Why do they have to be in the same age range? I'm a college student, and the most recent major friend I've made is a retired senior citizen.
Friends don't have to be in the same age range, but generally you have more in common with people your own age because you've all had similar experiences in terms of going through the same history and pop culture. I'm in my mid-40s. If I'm in an antique store or flea market with a 20-year-old and I point out an Atari 2600 Missile Command cartridge, they likely won't know what it is. If I show it to people my age, it brings up memories and suddenly we can talk about how we used to play our Ataris.
"Hey man, we were thinking of going camping later, but first playing some Mariokart and doing shots. You coming?"
"...oh sure, you can count me in!"
Well, preferences really not so much a hard requirement. If it's online gaming any age is fine.
Yeah my best friend is 20 years older than me. It worked out because we basically have the exact same interests or at least close enough we can talk about things we like and have an engaging conversation.
The other risk is that you catch them in the middle of their boring health phase, and you have to pretend to be interested in running or cycling.
People always say this, and then suggest trash like Pickleball and board games. I already have hobbies, they just happen at home.
Pickleball the board game edition
Oh, I wouldn't suggest hobbies without asking what you're interested in first.
Hey, completely unrelated question: What are you interested in?
You know that feeling when you scratch your elbow in just the right place to make your eyes flicker? Yeah, that. That's my hobby.
I would have expected it was Tetris
K so what if you have a crazy busy job and no free time because family. What then. Working hard to keep the family afloat has to be number one - then it’s sleep and victuals and stuff.
Then that's a serious problem all on its own.
If this is real, there are some things I can suggest, but I can't guarantee a solution because this is an absurd situation. You might try looking into government aid programs, looking for a better paying job with fewer hours, or if you're not a single parent with young kids only, asking someone else in the family to pull some weight too. And if you can't get out of the no-free-time situation, try making friends with coworkers.
If this isn't real, then why is that your response to general advice? Seems kinda like if someone recommends walking for exercise and you say "What if I'm paralyzed from the waist down?"
Snarky trolling isn’t my usual MO. It’s real. Thanks for the comment. I have online ‘friends’… or at least, human contact. Does that count.
As someone who's been in both boats, it counts, but I wouldn't rely on it forever. Having friends in person is way more... human, I guess?
Probably better if you have regular voice/video chats. Haven't been in that middleground.
I used to have a good friend but he shot himself a few years ago. It takes a long time for me to make proper friends. Lemmy is actually pretty chill. It’s been nice just chatting with people here. Less toxic than another place I won’t mention.
I'm really sorry for the loss of your friend. :(
I really hope that wonderful people find their way into your life, and you can find meaningful connections with kindred spirits. <3
Thanks internet stranger. Likewise for you.
Doesn't exist.
Also: You can do the hobbies online if you do not want to keep it IRL. My longest standing friend I met over at an online forum like 13 or so years ago. I also met a few people I still hang with every now and then via minecraft servers.
It's difficult to get friends when you're a dude. There's the never ending suspicion you get from your wife.
Sure, it's crazy behavior, but as a man, you can't really argue it, since society is generally on the side of women being suspicious (and dare I say it, insecure). Eventually it gets cleared up when she checks your phone, calls your friends, follows along during your guy nights, etc.
But the fact that it happens at all is just exhausting and generally guys don't wanna deal with that.
The fact that it happens at all, is some rom-com higschooler mentality that I refuse to put up with. There have been a fuckton of women that tried that bullshit with me. If you're going to play highschool games, you don't deserve a man. You deserve a little boy, as you're clearly a little girl/boy/other sexuality, but you still are in highschool and don't have the ability to fulfill an actual adult in your relationship. I've had far too many try to date me.
If you want a relationship that is based in reality, I'm down. I've yet to meet a woman that actually wants a relationship based in reality. Kinda sucks for me since I don't like guys. Especially since I've been hit on by multiple guys that would have been great for me, if they'd been women.
That's not normal and healthy. I don't have that issue with my wife, and I'm not aware of any friends that do either. I mean if my friends and I had a habit of going to strip clubs or something... yeah, that's going to make the misses insecure. But if you don't have a history of behavior that has earned her suspicion, I'd be looking at couple's therapy to get past that.
I have been in a relationship with someone like that. It was miserable not being trusted and having arguments about her baseless suspicions. In my case I eventually realized she was projecting.
You really do want to gather a good group of friends in your youth, it gets more difficult in adulthood
I'm part of three different groups since late teens, but since working full time I have only made maybe 3 new friends (not counting comings and goings from the groups)
It's nice being in a beer brewing friend group, the beer just gets better and better as budgets improve
After being with a good woman, I'd tell your woman to get therapy or get a new man. Good, healthy women do not do this shit. It's one thing to ask your husband where they're going and when they expect to return, it's another to check his phone, call his friends, stalk him... that's unhealthy as fuck. Goes both ways to, leave your wife's shit alone. If you can't trust each other, what's the point?
My wife doesn't do this, so it's all good. But I have friends who need to deal with this. I am not gonna tell them how to live their life.
But that's not the point I was trying to make. I was trying to say that society is much more accepting of women doing this than men. Somehow this is kind of "acceptable" for women to be this controlling, especially in my society.
I'm not really into object oriented, though.
How did it take me a whole 4 hours to get this? I'm a programmer too!
But making friends means going out. Then there's even more going out to interact with said friends. Screw that.
I don't think I will... Who needs friends when you have vim?
Friends will leave you, but you'll never leave vim.
Vim is love, vim is life, vim ..... is everything.
I have plenty of friends, I just don't like any of them.
Or just go volunteer somewhere. Lots of great friendships are born out of time spent on a shared task, even if not glamorous or "fun".
Plus the whole 'will I fit in" doesn't really exist at the homeless soup kitchen, because they are happy for anyone. You are welcome to be there.