[M1MON]

When I was younger, I used to have a huge group of friends and we hung out almost every day. Now that I'm getting older, my circle is super small—like just two or three people I actually keep in touch with. At first, I thought something was wrong with me, but I realized almost everyone goes through this once work and priorities start shifting. Real life pressure is definitely real. Do you guys prefer having just a few close friends now, or do you miss having a big group around?

[Pr0m3th3us]

I hate 99% of people so the less the better IMO.

[M1MON]

I hate 99% of people so the less the better IMO.

I used to think the same, but recently I realized it’s not really the people I dislike. It’s just the constant chaos and energy drain that comes with managing too many connections. I like peace more than anything.

[Deany]

Few close with similiar interests is better imo

[Wells]

When people enter parenthood their priorities change to the kids and family. Natural for them but not that fun for the childless. I had a female friend who became really too much after becoming a mom, you couldn't get her to talk about anything else than the kid, so we grew apart.

The best advice is the mandatory: Hit the gym.

💪😉

[Raijin]

Yeah people grow apart over time. Focus on making new friends. Not the old ones.

[Phantom_NiNja]

When I was younger, I used to have a huge group of friends and we hung out almost every day. Now that I'm getting older, my circle is super small—like just two or three people I actually keep in touch with. At first, I thought something was wrong with me, but I realized almost everyone goes through this once work and priorities start shifting. Real life pressure is definitely real. Do you guys prefer having just a few close friends now, or do you miss having a big group around?

Dude, I have zero friends. Everyone as a kid gas lighted me and even still today most people that talk to me or know my dad would give me looks like
something is wrong with this kid. I am in my late 30s and I can tell you what... nothing is wrong with me. I keep getting gas lit.

As, a kid I used to think I had a lot of friends. I had a best friend that I lived next door to me and we used to do everything growing up.
would always go to his birthday parties and he would go to mine. We played video games together...played hockey, and basketball together.

Then highschool came after 2 years of highschool. His parents bought land and built a new house. They moved. On his last birthday.
His uncle told him to no longer associate with me. Instead make friends that you can use to climb the corporate ladder.
He pretty much told him I am a loser and poor and they're part of the rich class. You don't associate with the poor type of attitude.

He moves and I call him and message him on facebook. Trying to hang out and he gives me excuses... like he's busy. At first
I believed him because when you first move you have a ton of things to do. So, the first year I didn't mind it. It was the 2nd to 5th
year where it was clear he didn't want to hang out with me anymore. He hung out with his own type of people. Facebook pictures of
him going to bars hanging out with people of his church and even went on vacation with them. I eventually stopped calling him but would
still wish him a happy birthday online while he never did the same to me.

It hit me hard when I was in college and was forced to take a psychology class. I learned the difference between a friend and an acquaintance.
It was then I found out that I never actually had friends. Like any friendship I thought I had was always one way. I was always going out o my
way to hang out or talk to them or do stuff for them. If they needed help I would help out... like helping to move, helping to give people rides.
This includes my own family. I have helped everyone in my family to move or give rides. What I got in return is them making fun of me
and laughing at me telling me to get a job because it's easy while these individuals don't have jobs themselves because they're women and are house wives. Yet, they forgot the time I had to drop out of college for a semester and had to drive 3 states over to my sisters house to watch her kids.
Why? she was mentally sick and child protective services were called and they told me that if she doesn't have a family member at her house they will take the kids. I am thinking to myself why the fuck do I have to be the one to take care of them? I didn't make them. There's a reason I don't date and go out to fuck around. This all happened while I was studying for a mid-term exam. I had to stay there for over a month and then drive back.

My point is that anyone that I know .. it was always one sided. This sister would then mock me and laugh at me that I don't have a job. She every time comes over and would in various ways joke and laugh at me. She would always talk about her kids being better than me. Told me her oldest kid got a job to go over a neighbors house to water their plants. Also, this sister would constantly be moving around. I would help all the time. The husband was cheap..he's a doctor makes good money but was cheap on moving expenses. He wanted me in 90 F degree heat to move a ton of stuff . He rented the moving van for 1 day got pissed because we couldn't do it that whole day. I stayed until 12am and the cops were called on us for making noise past 8pm. Which I warned this man that we can't be moving things around at this hour of night. He thought I was being lazy and making stuff until people called the cops for a noise complaint. I almost passed out because I couldn't take bathroom breaks and couldn't eat or drink anything. It was like slave labor. I was also not paid for doing this. He did this 4 times to me. The 5th time I asked for money. They gave $30 but the man was pissed like since we are family I am obligated for him to abuse me and treat me like a slave. He paid me because he had no one that would do it.

I helpd them 5 times moving and that is my last time. Why? I bought a bunch of servers and a rack. I needed help moving 2 nas servers which are heavy.
I asked them for help and they told me why do I have servers? They told me that I shouldn't have servers... I should be looking for work like at Mcdonalds and would laugh at me because at this point I worked my ass off for a urgent care facility that this guy worked at. I quit that job and had my own money.
I wanted to start a web hosting business. So, bought a bunch of servers and a couple of racks. I got zero help. No one helped me. So, I had to hold the servers and slowly put it down one step at a time. I built the rack and everything myself. After that experience, I plan on telling them that I am busy.
He has kids now that are of age to help people. He can get them to help him for free.

My point here is that I most likely cannot relate to you because I never had anyone in my life that actually gave a dam about me. I was always the one giving and never the one receiving. People always told me that how do you know people don't want to help you. In the past I just knew no one would help me so I never asked. I was told how would you know if you didn't ask. This is what people would use as an excuse for these people for not helping. I was like I would offer help before people would even ask. I don't do that anymore because of how people treated me. So, I knew based on behavior. Then I started asking people and they would act as if they didn't hear it or don't know I needed the help when I was pretty clear.

Like my sisters laughing at me telling get a job and stop being a bum. They do that instead of actually helping me look for work. My point is that or me
I never had a real friend so I won't know what one is really like. So, for me things didn't change as I got older other than that I got less friendlier and more bitter. I changed or the worse. I always no look at what is the catch when anyone walks up to me sayin Hi... like what's the gimic... why are you sayin hi.. do you need money? do you need me to give you a ride? do you need me to move things for you for free? ... etc

it's the people in my city that are mostly like this. They want things from people but they would never give back at all. Everyone very greed and selfish.
I see this everyday on the road when I drive and go to stores. Seeing people bitch about money and the prices to a cashier.

---

I hate 99% of people so the less the better IMO.

I am with you on this. I don't hate people.... but where I live like the people are so fucking selfish and greedy.
This includes family members like my sisters. One married a doctor after that she changed.. she has this attitude
that she's somebody. The other one is a doctor and has this attitude too that she's someone and she knows everything
even thought she makes a ton of financial mistakes and she won't see it and would ignore you when you point it out to her.

[Jamika]

I don't think that applies to me. I've always had very few friends, ever since I was a kid.

[Froggerini]

If you learn to be happy alone, you'll realize it's a super power. People are a nice addition, but not necessary. Just every once in a while.

[radiorbit]

One friend is more than ten acquaintances. (My special math there 😄).

Most of the latter will stab you in the back when the going gets bad anyway.

[DAL-SHA]

1st , Privacy is power ..
2nd, Not with everything in life you need people !
3rd, a good , close family member/spose can replace these people in your life but you still need a couple of bad-ass friends as a plan-B to hold your casket brother !

[Calculon]

Let me quote from CHESS the musical:

"No one in your life is with you constantly, no one is completely on your side."

One friend is enough in my experience.

[Phantom_NiNja]

1st , Privacy is power ..
2nd, Not with everything in life you need people !
3rd, a good , close family member/spose can replace these people in your life but you still need a couple of bad-ass friends as a plan-B to hold your casket brother !

Dude, the more real friends you have the better. The reason is that you live life on easy mode.

If you live alone or have no friends you are living life on hard mode.

Why do I say this? The more real friends you have the more free advise you can get.

Thinks of it as if you have friedns that are accountants, finance people, lawyers, construction workers,
real estate people etc. You can hit them up ask them questions and they would like guide you on how to do things correctly
and avoid common mistakes for free.

To get the same is impossible even if you paid such people a lot of money most don't look out for you or care about you.
They will do the bare minimum and make you pay thru the nose.

Like I said having a lot of friends and the key word here is real friends will make your life be on easy mode.

[The Pact]

I hate 99% of people so the less the better IMO.

I never used to think like this but taking morphine in hospital triggers incredibly detailed flashbacks from long ago periods of my life that I'd completely forgotten and I was the victim of so much malicious, completely false gossip in my life and I had blocked out all this horrifically unfair stuff that happened and I really could have done without all this detailed recall.


And year I was part of a big circle with my husband and then my husband died I also had a second child when all my friends have stuck to one child and my younger son is disabled I dunno all my grief kinda isolated me. I keep up with people on Facebook.

[kane2026]

For us it is difficult to say how old you are. You say this happened because of work and other priorities, so it could be because you are still trying to find a balance. I myself spent a year in Berlin for work and alas when I came back my friends circle had almost disappeared, but I had a notion it was the same for those former friends. Now, the circle has been enlarged with colleagues and former colleagues form work.