Quote:
Originally Posted by NightNotes
There is a rent a friend service in the USA. I guess this would be helpful for some things, such as having someone for support and companionship, especially during stressful situations that one does not want to go through alone. However, I much rather have a real friend who is with me because he/she genuinely likes me and wants to spend time with me.
Renting a friend may be a "better than having nobody" option for some of us, but certainly not the preference.
Sadly though, it seems like the deeper I move into senior citizen status, the less likely that anyone under the age of 50 would befriend me without there being a price or conditions attached to it. Older people are treated like obsolete relics in this society, or it seems that way at times.
By the way, in my opinion, the rent a family concept would not help to heal old traumas that happened with other people in the past. One would always know that the hired family was only playing a role. It would be like taking a placebo pill, but knowing that it is a placebo. There would be little or no effect.
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in the article i read, some rentees began to really bond with their renters but i understand what you are saying about things not always being genuine. but maybe some of the actors are also in the biz because they like helping others. who knows? i do prefer the self-parenting in terms of healing old issues.
as for making friends at an older age, i am a senior too and most seniors where i am have family so yes they are not actively looking for friends but i have met people of all ages at work, or who work near me, at the bus stop, all who seemed to be looking for friends. i spent many years being depressed and lost some friends along the way but now that i feel better i am determined to make up for lost time. i am going to try to be more open to making friends. of course it also depends on having similar interests and being compatible, an ageless search for anyone. but all we can do is try. good luck to you!
i forgot to add one thing that has helped me be more open is the fact that i suffered with invisible emotional pain for so many years that i have become more empathetic and i reach out to others more now because who knows what emotional pain someone might be in?