Nothing is natural anymore some people are more focused on how many friends they have instead of the connection the bond the feeling you get from a person

My issue is that I have nothing in common with 95% of people I meet
Edit: I am glad so many of you guys can be friends with people you have nothing in common with but it never worked out for me. I have even lost friends because they thought that my interests are weird. I really have tried my best but people either are not interested or make fun of me

I hate that third places have the barrier of entry of needing to buy something. coffee shop? have to buy a coffee. bar? have to buy a drink. when groceries and rent are more expensive than ever, the unnecessary expenses will always be the first to go - and with that goes the opportunity for connection. there’s literally an economic barrier for making new connections.

get off social media, go out and start doing an activity with other people and do it CONSISTENTLY - keep showing up to church, or your book club, or the intermural sports league. and do more than one of these! learn to enjoy interacting with a variety of people. stop worrying about whether these people will be ride or die for you or whether theyll validate you, and just be with them in the moment, again and again.

I have repeatedly dealt with people who claim to be just really really lonely. They want a friend or two very badly. What I've come to learn with dealing with a lot of people is that they want to have friends, but they don't want to do what is needed to be a friend. Everybody wants to be the garden, Not many people want to be the gardener. It takes energy and investment and not constantly prioritizing yourself to be a good friend and to have a friend. You have to be a friend.

It's because NO ONE is available.  I'm a parent of a gen-alpha, and honestly, it's one of the most frustrating things about parenting.  I have to beg people for playdates, and if I don't do it, they NEVER will.  I can see how this problem would be impacting gen-Z as well.  Maintaining relationships is just so unsustainable between long work hours, tons of extra curricular activities, and competition from things like social media and streaming services.  It's next to impossible to find people who are actively trying to maintain relationships, which means all of the work is on YOU if you want to have them, and it gets exhausting.  I'm honestly deeply sorry that I brought a kid into this mess.  It's been so hard to find friends and connect with her peers, largely because their parents aren't interested/are unavailable. I don't see it getting any better as she gets older, and with no siblings, she is destined for a really lonely life since she's neurodivergent and an introvert.  It's so sad that this is how the world operates now.

I think its good to practice discernment with "protecting your energy" because many ppl dont share even basic things about themselves beyond surface level to protect their energy but after a certain point you're just keeping your energy away from people you could've had a genuine connection with.

I honestly think one of the major issues is that people are way too quick to judge and way too quick to cut people off when they make a small mistake or they disagree on certain things. I understand that certain beliefs are make or break, but being around people who have different opinions and outlooks on life than you makes you a more well rounded person. GenZ is too concerned with image, perfection, and validation. As a collective we need to become more comfortable getting uncomfortable. We will not grow or make meaningful connections if we never leave our comfort zones.

I think another issue with forming connections is how weird conversing over text is nowadays. I remember back in the early days of texting (I'm an elder Gen Z), we would actually send "brb" or "gotta go, bye" texts, formally pausing or ending the conversation. Nowadays, sending a "bye" text is weird because we basically just have these neverending conversations that stop and pick back up arbitrarily. So asking to hang out can feel more daunting because if you were the last person to send a text, you don't want to seem needy by double-texting, or if you forgot to respond to something before, you might feel too awkward to bring something new up without continuing the previous conversation (just to name a few examples). It's just this minefield of social awkwardness, especially if you're talking to someone new

as a gen Z who tries to socalize with people in my age group its like people dont even fucking want to be friends then they whine and complain about being alone after ignoring people who do try to give them time of day

Born in 1990 here…look it’s expensive to do everything right now….its even expensive to hang out.

I can relate to this tho. Cause let me tell you I’m in my early 20s and it’s SO HARD to just make new friends especially have a GENUINE connnection with someone. I feel like we’ve come to the point in society where ppl think it’s inappropriate just to talk in general. Like if I go up to a stranger and try to make conversation-ppl would view me crazy. But in previous generations ppl approached strangers and that how they made friends in the first place

I recently made a video about this and I think the "lack of intimacy" part is so spot on. I think in general, gen z has a really hard time being vulnerable and building deep connections

There’s nothing worse than being surrounded by a crowd and still feeling alone.

I was like that until I deleted social media. I don’t wanna sound like an old person, but it really does kill your social skills. My friendships improved and I’ve gotten more confident.

In my opinion, I believe Social Media has made people see themselves as a brand. We have taken our image on Social Media more seriously than our face to face interactions. It has created a culture of parasocial relationships, and the monetization of our time. We now value ourselves based on our subscribers and likes, which normally come down to looks or status. People crave attention, but not connection. We see more information in a day than ever before, and it creates a fear of FOMO. People don’t commit to people anymore, we commit to the algorithm.

There’s a great film with Robin Williams called “One Hour Photo”. It is an incredible, and disturbing look at loneliness and the way seeing other people’s lives can disconnect us from our reality.

“No one ever took a picture of something they wanted to forget”

Everybody's busy, sometimes I feel like I'm doing nothing with my life because I'm always available, unlike my friends. You have to schedule 6 months ahead to see people. So even if you do see people, it's still 6 months of loneliness. There's no more spontaneous hangout. It's just a competition of who is enjoying their youth more. And we can say what we want, messages and calls aren't the same.

I do not think social media is alone to blame here. It is also the lack of third spaces and how BREATHING costs money.

i deleted all social media off my phone like facebook, instagram. having friends and seeing them perform online and never having the energy to genuinely communicate was annoying. i don't feel lonely, i just understand that a lot of our generation is exhausting themselves with looking a certain way instead of expressing their genuine self or unmasking around others in person. everyone is thinking about their online image... and how others can add to the aesthetic of being friends. i dont know. y'all need to learn to communicate your needs in any relationship, y'all wouldn't feel so lonely if you understood what you need instead of what you "want".  move with intention not habit

Community is the foundation of society, so without it, society will crumble