For those of you around 30 who spent your prime years (18 to early twenties) sitting in your room gaming instead of socializing, building your network, or hooking up, how do you feel about it now?

Jokes on you I did both.

>>714676479 (OP)
vindicated. none of our jobs or relationships mean anything because we're all dying for israel in the next few years. if you spawned children, you brought them into a worse hellworld than our parents gave us

>>714676479 (OP)
I helped her despite her betrayal.
Am I a simp?

>>714676479 (OP)
What you are doing has a name, it's called "negative reinforcement".
You can change, your life can change. Always.
You still can ask Naruto to help you.

>>714676479 (OP)
Of the WoW raiding guild of 40 I started with, there are still five of whom I play video games with so I'm OK with this outcome.

>>714676479 (OP)
Considering an old WoW guildmate just got me a recommendation for a job that pretty much doubled my income, I feel pretty good about it.
Also, spending time on regrets about the past is an easy way to spiral into depression, just look at the benefits and do your best to improve if you feel it was such a waste. Life isn't over.

>>714676479 (OP)
Comfy

>>714676651
/pol/ is not real life
I hope you realize this before it's too late

>>714676479 (OP)
I am proven right more and more every year.

>>714676479 (OP)
90% of my male friends are divorced; two went through textbook divorce rape; one discovered his wife was literally the neighbourhood bicycle; one has no contact with his daughter because his ex-wife moved to the other side of the country to spite him.

I am lonely, admittedly, but I've seen far, far worse outcomes of what happens when you get into a relationship purely not to be lonely.

>>714676832
>>714676779
You can turn your life around at any age, yeah. But let’s not kid ourselves. The doors you have open at 20 aren’t there when you’re 45, balding, weak, and jaded. (E.g: Young pussy is off limits now)

At 20 you’ve got energy, time, youth and people actually want to be around you. At 45 you’re fighting uphill. No amount of cope changes that.

>>714676479 (OP)
>building your network
lmao fucking nerd nobody talks like that, go outside

>>714677470
I suggest you use ChatGPT as your therapist to talk through whatever weird issues you're dealing with. It would be a more productive use of both your time and ours.

>>714677470
I guarantee you, that you can buy a young pussy somewhere in this world and maybe even love.
The chains only exist in our heads.

>>714677470
And what does wallowing in pity get you? You fucked, dust yourself and go for whats left.
Or just fucking an hero if you're such a whiny bitch.

>>714678117
>buy
You're into superficial relationships?

>>714677006
real life is worse than /pol/. we're the lucky ones born with family still willing to support us neets

>>714678406
>superficial relationships
Enjoy your two weeks of "meaningful" relationship. Nothing last.
You're still young. It shows.

>>714676651
>we're all dying for israel in the next few years
If you were actually over 30 you'd know that /pol/ has been saying that for two decades now and have consistently been wrong.

>>714676479 (OP)
As someone who not only spend all his time gaming but spent it most playing one thing, I don't regret it at all. I don't like being outside and being around other people. When I was in high school, I'd sit by myself because I didn't get along with anyone. That means video games gave me something to do during my boring ass life. This image here: >>714678517
is what the modern world is like, and that's why some people (like myself) just chose to Quit Game on society.

>>714679692
spent all his time gaming*

>>714679692
couldnt you have chosen a fun game to spend your time on at least?

>>714679692
That’s honestly sad. Humans are wired to seek connection. Having no friends or network basically means you have no leverage or power.

>>714680376
>Having no friends or network basically means you have no leverage or power.

Uh, okay. I've had friends in the past, but it didn't make me feel better about being poor. If you have friends, then go speak to your friends instead of me. I came to 4chan to speak to people like me; It was fun until everyone currently using the site showed up.

>>714676479 (OP)
If you use the phrase
>building up your network

You don't know much about socialising to be desu.

normies love to use the "networking" buzzword
>UHH YOU GOTTA NETWORK DUDE
what the fuck does that even mean? am I just supposed to keep talking to my classmates and professors in hopes that one of them can get me a job or internship?

>>714680872
>am I just supposed to keep talking to my classmates and professors in hopes that one of them can get me a job or internship?

It kinda does work like that. I had a friend who got his boss to let me try working at his restaurant, but I didn't get the job. I think it was obvious that I had no passion at all, and I don't know why I even went. Anyway, just having a friend can lead to job opportunities.

>>714681042
Who has a passion for being a waiter or a busboy?

>>714681223
It was a cooking job, and not waiter. I actually think it's a respectable profession, but I just can't find a reason to care. The only time I don't hate life is when I'm at home, and that's why I failed everything I ever tried. The only job I could see myself doing is food delivery.

>>714681405
Surely there are work from home jobs you'd prefer to being a delivery boy and having to go outside and interact with people?

>>714676479 (OP)
I hate myself and I want to die.
Why do you ask?

>>714676479 (OP)
I wish I was dead

I wish I had friends to talk to.
>>714676651
This guy is just being an alarmist and anti natalist. He hates kids because it harms his made up co2 emission numbers.

>>714676479 (OP)
I used to regret it until after I realized true hell is other people. I haven't spoken to another human being since before kung flu (outside of required transactional shit like doctor's appointments) and I've never felt better.

>>714676479 (OP)
>implying I have enough social skills to even understand what "building a network" means

>>714680872
>>714682419
Yes, it's keeping in touch with your buddies. Trust in business goes a long way. As an owner there's no way I'd hire some random CV fucko over one of my current employees' recommendations. They wouldn't just suggest anybody since 1) if they suck it makes their own work harder and 2) they know if they fuck up it's their necks on the chopping block next.

>>714682614
>They wouldn't just suggest anybody

Lol. I'm sure the chef at the restaurant thought I wasn't "just anybody" but I was. Someone can be both a good person and have no motivation whatsoever. It's like that video I watched about a kind homeless man; That's the kind of person I am.

https://youtu.be/ZlK3QbPAE-I?si=Mt5AGQDTfGFrnYkl

>>714676479 (OP)
>how do you feel about it now?
Wish it could have been different and I've beaten myself over it but truth is, the retard I was didn't stand a chance, can't blame that kid for not understanding what he was missing, especially with zero guidance. No 18 year old can truly grasp what really matters in life. Now, I've learned to balance things, but some opportunities I'll never get back.

cons
>perma virgin
>not a lot of friends

pros
>saved a lot of money
>know a lot about computers
>experienced a lot of media

I'm married, have kids, and own everything I have without debt.

Problem?

>>714677250
This is why WMAF is flourishing.

>>714677470
I married a 21yo when I was 30.

>>714676479 (OP)
feel fine, but I'm very autistic so "socializing, building your network, or hooking up" isn't enjoyable or worth it to me at all

if you're thinking about it, it would be easy to say that's the reason you're fucked up, but you can do all that and still be doing fine
those are easy, superficial things to make up for, you could do all that in a couple months easily if you wanted to

the reality is you're probably fucked up for a different, deeper reason and you're afraid to acknowledge it

>>714684872
My country is 99,5% white.

>>714676479 (OP)
>building your network
GOOD MORNING SAAR!

>>714676479 (OP)
Turning 29 in a few days. I actually became more of a hardcore gamer after college, since it wasn't until a year after graduating that I could afford a good gaming PC. Don't regret any of it. I grew up as a semi-poorfag in an affluent area which was very isolating. I wasn't ever going to be playing lacrosse with the kids who drove new range rovers to school.
Playing shitty f2p vidya like League of Legends was the only reason I had any friends at all and I'm still in contact with most of those guys. Gaming during the pandemic was the only thing that served well as a distraction from everyone around me being a massive fag. No regrets. Got a gf now and everything so it's no issue.

>>714676479 (OP)
Video games?

I tried socializing but ugly autist so it didn't pan out.

I'm most likely autistic, so it's not like I would've spent my 20s going to parties or interacting with others anyway. I tried, but it was an extremely unpleasant experience, especially when interacting with women.
I'm earning the big good goy points working from home, reading books, playing vidya and that's enough for me.

>>714685462
You don't have airplanes in your country?

31 now, I probably could've done more of that, but I did more than enough
I never actually purposely looking for those kind of things but it helps alot to have extroverted friends who adopt you and take you into those situations at their pace
did a fair amount of partying, meeting strangers, doing drugs and getting into shenanigans
ready to just calm down and meet someone and buy a house and shit

>>714676479 (OP)
I feel good, got a gf at work and were happy together and she doesn't complain with me when I'm gaming

Feel fine. Why am I supposed to feel like shit or something? Blow me.

>>714676479 (OP)
Ahead of the curve, honestly.
Everything has gone to shit, people are constantly bemoaning being lonely and broke.
Meanwhile... I stopped giving a fuck almost a decade ago, and have a healthy nest egg of about 60k.

30. I was so scared of going on dating apps for years because of the horror stories people would post online, until I realized that the horror stories were partly on the women and like 80% the men's fault. I went on multiple successful dates and only had one nightmare scenario which I noped the fuck out of. Currently living with my GF and it's been going great. If you want the secret, it's literally just this:
https://youtu.be/P6mdWmP-v58?t=746
Sam Hyde's a retard but he was 100% right for one golden moment

I'm 38. I've been an avoidant anxious wreck since I was about 15. I spent over half my life sitting in my room playing video games and only socialising online.

I didn't have sex for 15 years before I met my gf on hinge in 2023. She's now the love of my life and I just got a job.

It can happen.

>>714676479 (OP)
For me, whos friends and past buddies all either became jaded dads and moms or got drunk, drugged etc, im feeling pretty good about myself.
Not that there cant be some heights to achieve but they arent worth the efforts.

>>714676479 (OP)
I'm almost 40 and I hate myself very much. I'm a bitter asshole who is sick.

>>714680516
>I came to 4chan to speak to people like me; It was fun until everyone currently using the site showed up.
4chan got worse with the rise of Trump and the Trump subreddit being banned. That made everyone from there show up here and ruin every convo with /po/ garbage. Even the casual racism has changed.

>>714676650
Yeah, this. You can play video games for hours every day and still go do other things lmao

>>714676479 (OP)
I simply paused life at 18. Now I'm back in the game 10 years later and my gf is 16 so all is good.

kwab

>>714677470
>45
>weak
You might not be in your physical prime anymore but that's no excuse to be fat or weak. I used to go to a martial arts school that the lead instructor was like 70 years old, and strong as fuck. Dude was going one armed pushups on one finger and was still faster than most people in the room.

>>714680872
Yeah. The biggest part of getting a good job or securing a good contract is having the trust and respect of somebody who can make decisions there. They'll see a number of great offers, resumes, all that shit every day, but if they know you personally and like you then you've already got your foot in the door.

It's not fair, but nothing is. That's life.

>>714680872
yes. without the foot in the door you have to go through the normal job process where they put you like 50 layers of ai filters and group interviews and fuck you around for weeks

>>714676479 (OP)
I'm actually starting to feel it now. I still feel like the same 15 year old scrolling up an down on 4chan and playing TF2 with vocaloid songs blaring in the background. I only got my first real job at 32 recently after working a crappy job for 11 years straight. I've met a lot of people over the years to help me get where I am now but I had not wanted to be alone all the time in my early 20s I could have progressed way back then. It hurts seeing my peers that are only 22 or so.

>>714680872
It means befriending multiple people in the hopes one of them hits big and brings you along for the ride. Years ago a scrawny, nasally voiced white guy from Detroit became a global phenomenon overnight. His broke ass friends joined him for the ride and now all of them are rich. "Networking" just means being sociable. I don't have a college degree and I make 85k a year because a friend hooked me up at his job. Social skills trump everything else.

>>714690484
And he was stronger when he was young. I bet he feels weak because he remember what it was like. You won't defeat age, you'll just have to work harder to deteriorate a bit slower, that's all you get.

>>714676479 (OP)
I was heavily bullied all my school years and crashed out when I was 16, got my GED and hid in my room for 2 years out of terror of other people.

If you are suggesting that I should have somehow emerged from 10+ years of being socially ostracized, physically assaulted, humiliated by people my age, not protected or defended by authority, then I would like you to carefully think about what incentive somebody like me would have had.

"Socializing, networking, hooking up" was never an option for me. The world taught me that it hated me, so I hid from it for a long time.

I did emerge, eventually, and joined a super autistic job in the military where it was acceptable to be a completely retarded sperg as long as you got the job done (intel related), and that environment where bullying/harassment was not tolerated (to some extent) was safer than anything else I had ever felt.

I did my job, got paid, and no matter how weird I was as long as I followed etiquette and rules I was safe. Then my enlistment ended and I mistakenly believed the real world was also like the military, and that I would be safe if I just followed the rules.

This wasn't true at all. I almost wound up on the sex offender registry because I tried dating and a woman thought that because I was totally silent in a car ride, that I was going to hurt her and she secretly texted or called the police and they pulled us over. I was arrested at gunpoint for 'kidnapping' (???), but I was literally just driving her from her apartment to our restaurant which was only 20 minutes away. It cost me $20,000 worth of lawyer fees to get out of that mess, because a retarded foid thought my lack of chatter while driving made me a danger to her. We had already texted back and forth and talked on the phone a lot before that.

So I went back into my room again. I'm still there. The world hates me, and I hate the world.

>>714676479 (OP)
you think anything would be different?