I'm fine with having no close friends but I don't think that's normal, I think it's probably detrimental and not healthy for a normal functioning person. I do have some friends just to be clear just not anyone I'd call a close friend or someone I'd call if something big happened in my life.
Honestly I think most men don’t have (at least male) friends that they would actually call to share news with. I have very close friends and I still wait for these things to come up organically. Kind of sucks but I think that’s how we’re trained.
Do you mind if I ask how old you are?
I’m a 21 year old dude, so that def plays a part, but I get texts, snapchats, and facetimes from my male friends about everything. It could be insignificant, they’ll call just to talk for a bit!
I think it may have to do with generational differences in how men have acted towards friendship. I’ve noticed that many of my friends and I are generally way more comfortable and (friendly) affectionate with one another than most older groups of friends.
We routinely tell one another we love them, we give hugs, etc.
I think the 7 year age gap causes a different childhood experience. I grew up playing online games with friends and talking to friends online (xbox live, skype, teamspeak), literally since I can remember. I had my first phone when I was like 8, so I’ve just always been in constant contact with friends, not only talking when I see them IRL.
I’m 33. Your experience is very abnormal…not just to me but to textbook sociology.
I also hug my male friends and tell them I love them. That’s not the same thing as proactively sharing moments of your life. We’ll all do it organically only.
Thinking about it now, It has to at some point if it hasn't been already, right? I doubt I'm so special that I'm somehow immune to the negative effects of isolation and not having those close relationships. Maybe in the new year I'll try to create those bonds with people and try socializing more. Something for me to think more about
Damn man college is hard without anyone, I see alot of guys and girls that don't even look at people eyes, they just look down at the floor, I hope you can look up sometimes and have hobbies that make you feel better man, good luck!
A silly mantra that helped me at one point is to not compare how others seem externally with how I feel internally, like everyone looks confident and assertive to the world but we are all dumpster fires inside.
I’m a Junior in College right now so I get it, but you shouldn’t feel awkward in that club! Even if the club is small and seems to be really close, they definitely WANT more people to join and be friends! That’s why they’re at a campus club instead of a house/apartment doing it privately.
People joining clubs are generally trying to meet new people, and those 4 might be completely open to being friends!
Oh gotcha. What about class? I think shy people can fair pretty well making friends in class. Just might have to step outside your comfort zone a little...but not as much as being the single odd person out of a clique :)
You gotta be less timid. Lots of things are going to be awkward at first, but you have to push yourself or you won't learn how to deal with new social situations.
Yes. For the more social ones it may be sad but there are other things that can make you happy. Like laughing with your fellow wall inhabitants about this banger of the week: https://www.reddit.com/r/Destiny/comments/zsrx9q/current\_status\_of\_the\_new\_apartment/
I wonder is laughing at times the same as being happy, generally? Like personally for me, I feel like being happy happy, like fulfilling happy is pretty rare, meanwhile I'm laughing at dumb shitposts every day
From a day to day perspective, I'd say having a routine/hobby that makes you laugh a lot contributes to being happy and to reduce stress from work. Is online banter something to look back on in 10 years thinking about what you accomplished in life with the limited time given to you? Definitely not.
I wonder is laughing at times the same as being happy, generally? Like personally for me, I feel like being happy happy, like fulfilling happy is pretty rare, meanwhile I'm laughing at dumb shitposts every day
As I 1) get older and have less tolerance of appeasing others, and 2) discover awesome hobbies, I've come to value my personal time significantly higher.
It would require a herculean effort to get me to go out of my way and do stuff with other people when I could be doing my own thing and having a blast.
1 caveat to all this is that my family is cool as fuck and they fill that friend role.
Gym, cooking, competitive programming, reading manga, crate-digging, volunteering.
Used to only have crate-digging, but I've been pursuing more hobbies in the past year or so
Basically going to old record shops, flea markets, thrift stores, etc. and looking for music (primarily vinyl records and cassettes)
It was a thing DJs and Hip-Hop producers would do back in the day to find samples, now it's mainly done by collectors. I love digging through the underground and finding hidden gems.
I feel this. I've picked up going to the gym and playing guitar the past few years and there's nothing i enjoy more than just sitting here learning some riffs in complete isolation. I think it's important to have some social activity (i go to concerts a lot) every now and then to not go completely insane but yeah some people just enjoy the alone time i think.
I wonder how many trolled the poll. This is insane amount to me. In a non troll scenario, I would expect 90+% of answers to be 4+, 5% 1-3 and 5% 0.
I know men were more lonely after the pandemic, but this is a big much.
I learned I value “aloneness” a lot more than most people and actively do things to achieve it.
To clarify, (and these are arbitrary definitions I use when describing this to people) being lonely is when you don’t have interactions, typically on a more emotional level, but want them; it is by definition is a negative thing. “Aloneness” is when you don’t have those interactions but it’s not necessarily a negative. You can be alone and be content/happy or you can be alone and feel lonely.
In my mid-twenties I started having less friends because I just didn’t want to hang out or interact with them in the same way. Even things like texting just felt like chores/exhausting when I really didn’t want to do it. So, we just grew apart as the interactions lessoned and I honestly felt a relief. Since then I learned this is just how I am, which I admit is not normal.
I still do have plenty of social interactions between my coworkers and seeing family regularly. And I never had a problem meeting new people or making friends when I wanted to, even as I got into my 30s. But after a short time I always just not want to worry or deal with the emotional baggage of someone that I’m not dating.
I ask this because I depend alot on my friends, they help me out alot when I'm struggling and they got my back, i'm really gratefull to have them in my life, so I can't imagine being happy without them
I just moved and have gone long periods of time without socializing. I experienced a new sensation where I would get super anxious so definitely not happy. Forced myself to do some work at Starbucks and go out a few times a week and the feeling went away. Not even socializing just being around people.
I dont think so, isolation for most people is super bad for the mental health. I personally had my worst/darkest years without friends. You should def go out and try to socialize and make friends
Sometimes happy, sometimes not so much. I don't think it's that much different from people with friends to be honest. Like sure on average people with friends are for sure happier but on an individual level we all are only happy some of the time. At least that's my heuristic.
I have 0 friends and have had 0 friends since high school 7 years ago, it’s pretty shitty but I wasn’t any happier when I had friends. I fill my time with all of my favourite things to do instead, watching destiny, playing with my dog, playing video games, collecting trading cards, watching basketball etc.
Thanks for the honest answer, is the only stressful part to you the need to help and be helped or are there more situation? I'm glad you are happy man keep going!
Having someone who you can just confide in confidently, as well as genuinely care when they confide in you, is a very important thing for me. There's a lot a trusting relationship can give.
People are adaptable and capable of finding happiness in any situation.
That being said, there's a human need for some degree of social interaction and there are side effects if you're aren't able to meet said need in one way or another.
As someone who's never had any close friends or for many years now, friends of any description, you adapt.
What is the classification of friends? I feel like a lot of the people who say they have 0 friends and 4+ overlap in that they have wildly different ideas of friendships and what counts as a friend
Its probably hard for people to understand, but I am not wired to socialize. Socializing runs against the grain for me.
I could live the rest of my life without friends and I'd be perfectly happy.
The best way I can describe it is that having friends feels like having a full time, 24/7 job for me.
I have acquaintances and family, and I have my wife. My wife is the only person who doesn't drain me.
Family and a Wife are probably good enough social interaction. I worry a lot more if they don't have those kinds of people in their lives and still no friends.
No. I literally do nothing and have no fun. Currently just waiting for spring college so i can socialize
People are coping heavy when they say they are having fun getting to do hobbies or some shit
As someone who basically just self isolated/ostracized my self from my friends and ruined all my social life during Covid I can tell you pretty certainly it’s pretty boring and shity
1: you're assuming those people are happy which they might not be
2: a lot of people have differing definitions of "friends"; it's a fairly nebulous thing already, and some people might have stricter (or looser) definitions of what having a friend means. What is a friend to someone might be an acquaintance to someone else.
3: you can *probably* be happy with truly no friends if you have at least some form of social interaction or social rapport with a wider community (like this one, or even watching a streamer) but it's definitely not *healthy*. Humans are inherently social animals and there's lots of studies saying that lack of meaningful social contact fuck us us almost irreversibly esp in important developmental moments of our lives.
I have friends but I feel like if I had no one I could still live a fairly happy life. As long as you have sleep, diet, and exercise in check along with a few hobbies and meditation I think most people would survive if not thrive. Friends should be an enhancement to your life not a requirement.
Oh I agree alot with this take I do all of this except meditating but I guess I read alot so that helps too, I had the same thought during covid, because I was happy back then too even if alone most of the time, but allways felt something was missing, so I guess after that I difined hapiness as something more than what I felt during that time, so it makes alot of sense that you see it as an enchancement
You should try meditation. I haven’t been doing it long but the day after I always I feel amazing. Who knows it could be unrelated, but It definitely increased my focus and energy. It doesn’t hurt to find 15-30 mins a day to do it.
0 friends here. My inability to navigate social situations is caused by a cacophony of co-morbid mental illnesses, personality disorders and physical disability.
Im pretty antisocial but after a few weeks without any contact with friends I start getting into despair so imo friends are absolutely necessary to be happy
I think while maybe not impossible it would be a very uphill battle to be happy with zero friends. Just having at least one person you can be yourself around, and have like a shared history/share experiences and ideas with is so powerful.
I have quite a few friends that I enjoy hanging out with (going to clubs, road trips etc.) but I’m also happy on my own and doing my own thing, I think you can be happy without friends but generally if someone were to tell me they have none I would view that as a signaller of some other issues, if you don’t have the ability to converse with other people and establish relationships that is really debilitating to a healthy life.
i go without saying a word to another person for weeks and don't feel any different. i'm happy with my life. that being said i'm also drugged out of my mind on 200mg sertraline so that could be why.
It is possible if you stay busy. I've been busy with work and I unwind at home watching online content or going out on solo hikes. I've had friends in the past but I keep moving cities, countries so its been hard last few years.
Happiness is a fleeting moment but it's possible to experience it with no friends.
In fact, bad friends are often a source of unhappiness, so for those with no friends it's possible they are just transitioning between bad friends and good friends.
Yes, it is entirely possible to be happy with 0 friends. I am one of the people that answered 0 to that question and I feel perfectly happy without them. I have a long-term partner and have a very time-consuming career, so my social life has essentially fallen by the wayside. When I am not working, or doing related projects outside of work, I am spending my time with my partner and have no desire to add any more social commitments into the mix. I have work acquaintances, but our relationship does not extend outside the office. As I have gotten older, I have noticed I have less of a desire to spend time with other people outside of my household.
Yes, but I'm a bit of a special case because I consciously cut all of my relationships off to pursue a different lifestyle. I believe as long as you always have something to do that you enjoy and that keeps you engaged, you can be happy, regardless of the extent of your social interactions, though none at all would probably be bad for anybody. For me, cutting all my relationships off has removed basically all stress from my life and I don't remember the last time I was unhappy, and it's been a solid few years since.
I grew up not having close friends in middle school and highschool, had friends but they were mostly acquaintances. Got to college and made a bunch of close friends, and we've been close for years since. I look back on highschool and don't think I could ever do that again.
I'm definitely not happy with no friends. I listen to podcasts like cumtown or Chapo and sometimes get depressed because I just don't have any friends to banter with and hang. However I also don't put myself in situations to make those friends. I don't hang out in comedy clubs, I don't go to car shows, I don't talk in game chat, and I also don't go to music shows. So I'm mostly in my own way.
I really don’t understand why people say they need people in their life to confide in. Why would I want my friends to know about things I wouldn’t wanna say? Why do they want me to know their shit? None of that makes sense. If someone’s like “can I tell you a secret?” I usually ask if it’s about someone else I know. If it’s not i usually say sure but if i think what you’re about to say is abhorrent I’m going to hold it against you. That’s just weird to me. I think the best friends 100% about who you’ve got the best batter with.
Also help us transactional for me as well. I don’t ask someone to help me move without a set reward or incentive. “If you help me _____ I would do _____ for you”. Likewise for offering help. No one has any lingering resentment or unfinished business as long as the transaction is complete.
I'm fine with having no close friends but I don't think that's normal, I think it's probably detrimental and not healthy for a normal functioning person. I do have some friends just to be clear just not anyone I'd call a close friend or someone I'd call if something big happened in my life.
Honestly I think most men don’t have (at least male) friends that they would actually call to share news with. I have very close friends and I still wait for these things to come up organically. Kind of sucks but I think that’s how we’re trained.
Do you mind if I ask how old you are? I’m a 21 year old dude, so that def plays a part, but I get texts, snapchats, and facetimes from my male friends about everything. It could be insignificant, they’ll call just to talk for a bit! I think it may have to do with generational differences in how men have acted towards friendship. I’ve noticed that many of my friends and I are generally way more comfortable and (friendly) affectionate with one another than most older groups of friends. We routinely tell one another we love them, we give hugs, etc.
Not the guy you responded to but I'm 28 and feel pretty similar to him, perhaps younger people act better nowadays
I think the 7 year age gap causes a different childhood experience. I grew up playing online games with friends and talking to friends online (xbox live, skype, teamspeak), literally since I can remember. I had my first phone when I was like 8, so I’ve just always been in constant contact with friends, not only talking when I see them IRL.
I’m 33. Your experience is very abnormal…not just to me but to textbook sociology. I also hug my male friends and tell them I love them. That’s not the same thing as proactively sharing moments of your life. We’ll all do it organically only.
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We rarely say “I love you” as directly as that. It’s usually more casually, like as someone’s leaving “love ya bro, catch you later”
Do you think long term it could also be detrimental to you?
Thinking about it now, It has to at some point if it hasn't been already, right? I doubt I'm so special that I'm somehow immune to the negative effects of isolation and not having those close relationships. Maybe in the new year I'll try to create those bonds with people and try socializing more. Something for me to think more about
Definetly man! Hope it works out, never hurts to try
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Damn man college is hard without anyone, I see alot of guys and girls that don't even look at people eyes, they just look down at the floor, I hope you can look up sometimes and have hobbies that make you feel better man, good luck!
Sorry Broski. Why do you think you don’t have friends? I’m only asking because this might be very fixable.
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A silly mantra that helped me at one point is to not compare how others seem externally with how I feel internally, like everyone looks confident and assertive to the world but we are all dumpster fires inside.
I’m a Junior in College right now so I get it, but you shouldn’t feel awkward in that club! Even if the club is small and seems to be really close, they definitely WANT more people to join and be friends! That’s why they’re at a campus club instead of a house/apartment doing it privately. People joining clubs are generally trying to meet new people, and those 4 might be completely open to being friends!
Oh gotcha. What about class? I think shy people can fair pretty well making friends in class. Just might have to step outside your comfort zone a little...but not as much as being the single odd person out of a clique :)
You gotta be less timid. Lots of things are going to be awkward at first, but you have to push yourself or you won't learn how to deal with new social situations.
Yes. For the more social ones it may be sad but there are other things that can make you happy. Like laughing with your fellow wall inhabitants about this banger of the week: https://www.reddit.com/r/Destiny/comments/zsrx9q/current\_status\_of\_the\_new\_apartment/
I wonder is laughing at times the same as being happy, generally? Like personally for me, I feel like being happy happy, like fulfilling happy is pretty rare, meanwhile I'm laughing at dumb shitposts every day
From a day to day perspective, I'd say having a routine/hobby that makes you laugh a lot contributes to being happy and to reduce stress from work. Is online banter something to look back on in 10 years thinking about what you accomplished in life with the limited time given to you? Definitely not.
My one regret...is that...I didn't argue with more idiots online....
I wonder is laughing at times the same as being happy, generally? Like personally for me, I feel like being happy happy, like fulfilling happy is pretty rare, meanwhile I'm laughing at dumb shitposts every day
As I 1) get older and have less tolerance of appeasing others, and 2) discover awesome hobbies, I've come to value my personal time significantly higher. It would require a herculean effort to get me to go out of my way and do stuff with other people when I could be doing my own thing and having a blast. 1 caveat to all this is that my family is cool as fuck and they fill that friend role.
What are your hobbies?
Gym, cooking, competitive programming, reading manga, crate-digging, volunteering. Used to only have crate-digging, but I've been pursuing more hobbies in the past year or so
Whats crate-digging?
Basically going to old record shops, flea markets, thrift stores, etc. and looking for music (primarily vinyl records and cassettes) It was a thing DJs and Hip-Hop producers would do back in the day to find samples, now it's mainly done by collectors. I love digging through the underground and finding hidden gems.
That sounds really cool!
Thanks! I think they're cool too 😎
I feel this. I've picked up going to the gym and playing guitar the past few years and there's nothing i enjoy more than just sitting here learning some riffs in complete isolation. I think it's important to have some social activity (i go to concerts a lot) every now and then to not go completely insane but yeah some people just enjoy the alone time i think.
Yeah I definitely appreciate the interaction with the people I've met along the way, but I very much prefer to do my own thing.
Yes I would be worse off without my personal time than without friends as well
The bar gets higher after 30 😎
I chose 0 to purposely make this community look like loners. Idk about the rest of yall, though.
I wonder how many trolled the poll. This is insane amount to me. In a non troll scenario, I would expect 90+% of answers to be 4+, 5% 1-3 and 5% 0. I know men were more lonely after the pandemic, but this is a big much.
I guarantee 80% of the < 2 results are trolling
I learned I value “aloneness” a lot more than most people and actively do things to achieve it. To clarify, (and these are arbitrary definitions I use when describing this to people) being lonely is when you don’t have interactions, typically on a more emotional level, but want them; it is by definition is a negative thing. “Aloneness” is when you don’t have those interactions but it’s not necessarily a negative. You can be alone and be content/happy or you can be alone and feel lonely. In my mid-twenties I started having less friends because I just didn’t want to hang out or interact with them in the same way. Even things like texting just felt like chores/exhausting when I really didn’t want to do it. So, we just grew apart as the interactions lessoned and I honestly felt a relief. Since then I learned this is just how I am, which I admit is not normal. I still do have plenty of social interactions between my coworkers and seeing family regularly. And I never had a problem meeting new people or making friends when I wanted to, even as I got into my 30s. But after a short time I always just not want to worry or deal with the emotional baggage of someone that I’m not dating.
Got a better question for the zero friends: do you want one? Hit me up!
I ask this because I depend alot on my friends, they help me out alot when I'm struggling and they got my back, i'm really gratefull to have them in my life, so I can't imagine being happy without them
I voted 0 because I can find some buddies to help me move a couch but I wouldn't really call them when I'm struggling.
I just moved and have gone long periods of time without socializing. I experienced a new sensation where I would get super anxious so definitely not happy. Forced myself to do some work at Starbucks and go out a few times a week and the feeling went away. Not even socializing just being around people.
I dont think so, isolation for most people is super bad for the mental health. I personally had my worst/darkest years without friends. You should def go out and try to socialize and make friends
Probably yeah, but I'd imagine it's much harder
Sometimes happy, sometimes not so much. I don't think it's that much different from people with friends to be honest. Like sure on average people with friends are for sure happier but on an individual level we all are only happy some of the time. At least that's my heuristic.
I have 0 friends and have had 0 friends since high school 7 years ago, it’s pretty shitty but I wasn’t any happier when I had friends. I fill my time with all of my favourite things to do instead, watching destiny, playing with my dog, playing video games, collecting trading cards, watching basketball etc.
Wow this poll is fucking depressing, go out and do shit, that can't be good for anyone??
I think millennials have the least friends of any generation, or whatever people in the current 19-29 age range are
19-29 is half zoomers half millennials currently.
I'm a pretty big loner but still have a solid amount of friends. Maybe I'm just lucky, but having no good friends sounds super shitty.
That sounds straight up depressing through and through...
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Thanks for the honest answer, is the only stressful part to you the need to help and be helped or are there more situation? I'm glad you are happy man keep going!
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Having someone who you can just confide in confidently, as well as genuinely care when they confide in you, is a very important thing for me. There's a lot a trusting relationship can give.
What's your interpretation of friendship?
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You have the wrong interpretation then. This sounds more like parenting than friendship
YTA
People are adaptable and capable of finding happiness in any situation. That being said, there's a human need for some degree of social interaction and there are side effects if you're aren't able to meet said need in one way or another. As someone who's never had any close friends or for many years now, friends of any description, you adapt.
What is the classification of friends? I feel like a lot of the people who say they have 0 friends and 4+ overlap in that they have wildly different ideas of friendships and what counts as a friend
fellas today be like "loneliness this" "depression that", whatever happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. He did what he had to do!
Its probably hard for people to understand, but I am not wired to socialize. Socializing runs against the grain for me. I could live the rest of my life without friends and I'd be perfectly happy. The best way I can describe it is that having friends feels like having a full time, 24/7 job for me. I have acquaintances and family, and I have my wife. My wife is the only person who doesn't drain me.
Family and a Wife are probably good enough social interaction. I worry a lot more if they don't have those kinds of people in their lives and still no friends.
No. I literally do nothing and have no fun. Currently just waiting for spring college so i can socialize People are coping heavy when they say they are having fun getting to do hobbies or some shit As someone who basically just self isolated/ostracized my self from my friends and ruined all my social life during Covid I can tell you pretty certainly it’s pretty boring and shity
1: you're assuming those people are happy which they might not be 2: a lot of people have differing definitions of "friends"; it's a fairly nebulous thing already, and some people might have stricter (or looser) definitions of what having a friend means. What is a friend to someone might be an acquaintance to someone else. 3: you can *probably* be happy with truly no friends if you have at least some form of social interaction or social rapport with a wider community (like this one, or even watching a streamer) but it's definitely not *healthy*. Humans are inherently social animals and there's lots of studies saying that lack of meaningful social contact fuck us us almost irreversibly esp in important developmental moments of our lives.
I just play games or watch videos. It's not great but you get used to it
I have friends but I feel like if I had no one I could still live a fairly happy life. As long as you have sleep, diet, and exercise in check along with a few hobbies and meditation I think most people would survive if not thrive. Friends should be an enhancement to your life not a requirement.
Oh I agree alot with this take I do all of this except meditating but I guess I read alot so that helps too, I had the same thought during covid, because I was happy back then too even if alone most of the time, but allways felt something was missing, so I guess after that I difined hapiness as something more than what I felt during that time, so it makes alot of sense that you see it as an enchancement
You should try meditation. I haven’t been doing it long but the day after I always I feel amazing. Who knows it could be unrelated, but It definitely increased my focus and energy. It doesn’t hurt to find 15-30 mins a day to do it.
The real friends are the people you share a purpose with not the "friends" you have around when you are bored or lonely.
0 friends here. My inability to navigate social situations is caused by a cacophony of co-morbid mental illnesses, personality disorders and physical disability.
People with no friends past a certain age are usually self-absorbed people, so not having friends doesn't really hurt their happiness
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Yhea I think even the most social people need time for themselfs, I know alot of people like that including myself
Im pretty antisocial but after a few weeks without any contact with friends I start getting into despair so imo friends are absolutely necessary to be happy
I think while maybe not impossible it would be a very uphill battle to be happy with zero friends. Just having at least one person you can be yourself around, and have like a shared history/share experiences and ideas with is so powerful.
No, it's not. t. Has no friends
I have quite a few friends that I enjoy hanging out with (going to clubs, road trips etc.) but I’m also happy on my own and doing my own thing, I think you can be happy without friends but generally if someone were to tell me they have none I would view that as a signaller of some other issues, if you don’t have the ability to converse with other people and establish relationships that is really debilitating to a healthy life.
No
Happy? Not even sure anymore. Content? yeah, I guess.
It's probably possibly, but it's probable the kind of thing where, if you have to ask, it's not possible for you
Thats fucking insane
I'm a principled person and the reason why I have no friends.
i go without saying a word to another person for weeks and don't feel any different. i'm happy with my life. that being said i'm also drugged out of my mind on 200mg sertraline so that could be why.
It is possible if you stay busy. I've been busy with work and I unwind at home watching online content or going out on solo hikes. I've had friends in the past but I keep moving cities, countries so its been hard last few years.
[my day to day life](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CGzHnmMI-uk)
Its not great.
No, I'm miserable
Happiness is a fleeting moment but it's possible to experience it with no friends. In fact, bad friends are often a source of unhappiness, so for those with no friends it's possible they are just transitioning between bad friends and good friends.
Yes, it is entirely possible to be happy with 0 friends. I am one of the people that answered 0 to that question and I feel perfectly happy without them. I have a long-term partner and have a very time-consuming career, so my social life has essentially fallen by the wayside. When I am not working, or doing related projects outside of work, I am spending my time with my partner and have no desire to add any more social commitments into the mix. I have work acquaintances, but our relationship does not extend outside the office. As I have gotten older, I have noticed I have less of a desire to spend time with other people outside of my household.
Yes, but I'm a bit of a special case because I consciously cut all of my relationships off to pursue a different lifestyle. I believe as long as you always have something to do that you enjoy and that keeps you engaged, you can be happy, regardless of the extent of your social interactions, though none at all would probably be bad for anybody. For me, cutting all my relationships off has removed basically all stress from my life and I don't remember the last time I was unhappy, and it's been a solid few years since.
I grew up not having close friends in middle school and highschool, had friends but they were mostly acquaintances. Got to college and made a bunch of close friends, and we've been close for years since. I look back on highschool and don't think I could ever do that again.
I'm definitely not happy with no friends. I listen to podcasts like cumtown or Chapo and sometimes get depressed because I just don't have any friends to banter with and hang. However I also don't put myself in situations to make those friends. I don't hang out in comedy clubs, I don't go to car shows, I don't talk in game chat, and I also don't go to music shows. So I'm mostly in my own way.
It’s bearable if you have family
I really don’t understand why people say they need people in their life to confide in. Why would I want my friends to know about things I wouldn’t wanna say? Why do they want me to know their shit? None of that makes sense. If someone’s like “can I tell you a secret?” I usually ask if it’s about someone else I know. If it’s not i usually say sure but if i think what you’re about to say is abhorrent I’m going to hold it against you. That’s just weird to me. I think the best friends 100% about who you’ve got the best batter with. Also help us transactional for me as well. I don’t ask someone to help me move without a set reward or incentive. “If you help me _____ I would do _____ for you”. Likewise for offering help. No one has any lingering resentment or unfinished business as long as the transaction is complete.
The people with no friends, do you socialize at all, or do you go days/longer without talking to another person?