Comments by "wtfserpico" (@wtfserpico) on "The friendship recession | Richard Reeves" video.

You don't need the validation from outside if you are doing the right thing for your family. It may feel like it because that's what the current world, especially social media, wants you to think, but you get to choose from where you get your validation. Seek satisfaction from the effort that you put in to your wife and children and the desire for external validation will fall away. Trust me, it's what I had to realize and do after hitting a deep depression in my mid 30's as well. Now, about 10 years later I'm happier than ever, and closer to my wife and kids than ever.
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In our culture that celebrates divorce and independence it's no wonder that people are viewing all relationships as impermanent. It's doubly tough because instant validation is only a post away. It's much easier to deal with "friends" online who will only "Like" you and tell you how valid you are than to deal with people who care enough about you to point out areas that you could improve in, and call you on your B.S. when it gets out of hand.
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@motorolas Good to hear. Keep pushing brother!
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@vivvy_0 I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. When I was in my deepest depression not a single 'friend' that I grew up with made time for me, but my wife and kids were always there. So I decided to eliminate any effort in maintaining those friendships and instead focused on my family, and it worked out better than I could have hoped. On the other side of things, I find that making friends is far easier now than it ever was before, because I have no pressure for external validation, and I don't even attempt to pursue a relationship past the acquaintance level if they don't share similar core, family-focused values.
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@Noname Did you even read my whole comment?
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