Discussion In your opinion, is an active social life a want or a need?

[Anonymoususer1234]

Is having an active social cercle who you can talk to a want or a need? Do humans need other humans? Or is it a want instead? How does one tell the difference between the two?

 

[WorthlessTrash]

An active social life is a need. We are social creatures. There are abnormalities who dont desire it, but in one form or another, the great majority do.

 

[12_Years_Late]

Neither. I have shunned human interaction every day of my life. It is not necessary for me as I never intended to stay on this planet anyway. They are just barriers to CTB.

 

[MeltingBrain]

It's a need . Some seek it more than others but even introverts would like to have some sort of social life.

 

[day]

I need to socialize but I actively try to avoid it. I find I may complain about my mental health a bit to much and it could come across as attention seeking or that I'm looking for pity when in reality I just want to talk to people who maybe have similar mindsets. Guess that's how I ended up on SS.

 

[vitbar]

Need. Our sense of identity in part comes from our interactions with others. People in long term solitary confinement often go very strange.

 

[Anonymoususer1234]

Need. Our sense of identity in part comes from our interactions with others. People in long term solitary confinement often go very strange.

That's interesting. But I think it's worth pointing out that people in solitary confinement are deprived of any and all stimulation, not just human interaction. Also living conditions in solitary confinement are not good at all which is probably a big contributing factor.

I think what you said about identity is true to an extent, but only really when someone is a young child, a parent or an extrovert. Most older folks don't need to rely on anyone else for a sense of identity.

One could argue that human interaction is only a need so long as you fall into the one of the above groups

It's a need . Some seek it more than others but even introverts would like to have some sort of social life.

Just because something is sought after doesn't necessarily make it a need. Also there are many people who don't seek out or desire a social life.

(Just do a quick Google search for the term "aplatonic" or the phrase "I don't want friends". You'd be surprised how many people claim to be content without human interaction or a social life.)

I'm not taking any hard stances here or trying to argue one way or another by the way. Just playing devil's advocate.

 

[vitbar]

That's interesting. But I think it's worth pointing out that people in solitary confinement are deprived of any and all stimulation, not just human interaction. Also living conditions in solitary confinement are not good at all which is probably a big contributing factor.

I think what you said about identity is true to an extent, but only really when someone is a young child, a parent or an extrovert. Most older folks don't need to rely on anyone else for a sense of identity.

One could argue that human interaction is only a need so long as you fall into the one of the above groups

You are right about solitary, though countries with better prison conditions also tend to have someone come and talk with you. Anders Breivik comes to mind.

I disagree about the identity comment though. People get a lot of their sense of identity from their place in the social world. It doesn't stop when you are older. A lot of older folk get depressed and isolation is a big part of that.

Now could there be people who don't have this need? Maybe. As you say some claim it at least. It's difficult to know for sure. It's definitely a sliding scale with functioning well on a lot less than others.

 

[charlotte_]

It's a need imo, though it varies between individuals. Humans are social creatures after all. None can survive fully on their own.

 

[Forever Sleep]

It sounds like a nightmare to me but I think I'm maladjusted and abnormal.

 

[cgrtt.brns]

maybe not necessarily an active social circle, but i think some form of human interaction is an important part of mental development and general maintenance of mental health if that makes sense. i think its important to have people/a person you can talk to, but remembering that some heavier topics are best talked about with a health professional, as many people arent prepared or educated on the best way to respond or help. i think social interaction is especially important for kids as they develop their identity and learn important social skills they'll need in the future etc.
obviously nothing can be applied to every single person, some may not desire human interaction and may prefer interacting with for example animals or ai, which is perfectly reasonable. i myself much prefer interacting with animals and avoid human interaction as much as i can just bc of how stressful i find it. ive always been this way for as long as i can remember, but i know certain situations in my life have caused me to be more averse to humans if that makes sense. being autistic with social anxiety makes having a social circle difficult, but im ok with that bc i dont feel i need a lot of friends, just a couple close ones. for a period of my life as a teenager i didnt want any friends at all and cut ties with everyone i knew bc thats what i believed was best for me at the time.
i think everyones different and has their own capacity and requirements for amount of as well as type of social interaction, but overall humans are naturally a social species, we evolved in groups (like monkeys and elephants and ants etc., as opposed to solitary animals like tigers, polar bears and some species of birds etc.), but its no good forcing yourself to have an active social circle if its not something you personally need. hope this made sense. its a very interesting question! id love to hear any thoughts or disagreements you have with anything i wrote.

 

[SentientSapien]

It is a need, at least from a biological perspective. We are a social species.

 

[(¥)]

want. humans want to be social but do not need people inherently. animal and nature calms but for humans it is the ends justify mean relation. "social" or "society" = constructed, voluntary. it is perception of human happiness. in usual cases, humans are independant. extreme cases = sociopathy.

 

[foreverfalling]

It's a need in the same way I need to take a piss or two every day. It's not something I want to do nor do I actively seek to do it. But I am forced to do so to survive. To keep up my appearances so that I can stay at my job so I don't end up homeless. The only other 'social' life I have is reading posts here and in other related websites. That's to keep my sanity and to feel less alone. It feels like masturbation, I know doom scrolling is pointless, but without it I feel too alone.

 

[yellowtin42]

i think it's a need, at least for me. whether i like it or not, i do need to bounce ideas and just generally talk to other people.