u/HaywireZoo

I really don’t know what’s wrong with me, i was never super social before, but i was at least capable of having normal conversations with people and i enjoyed being surrounded by people to talk to. but in the last year or so, ive gotten more and more antisocial, im always angry or irritated, or just completely uninterested is talking to anybody, ill fake laugh and smile and nod my head just to get through interactions, but inside im either completely uninterested in what they’re saying, or genuinely irritated that i have to keep talking to them when i would rather be left alone. it’s not just strangers either, i also feel like this about my family, and it’s harder to hide from them because I don’t feel the social pressure of being polite, i can tell that they notice.

perhaps as a side effect of my shitty attitude, i’m pretty lonely, i have one really good friend that i actually like being around, she doesn’t drain my social battery or make me feel like i need to pretend to be nice, we just work together i guess. i used to have more friends, we were all a big group, but because of this drastic personality change, i’ve completely drifted apart from them, and i really miss feeling like a part of something, but at the same time i know that i wouldn’t be able to make more friends because im always angry and not a fun person to be around.

I wanna start this by saying that i sympathize with parents who want a chance to go out and enjoy themselves, but are obligated to drag their kids along with them. But i absolutely *hate* the entitlement that some of them feel about bringing their kids with them in places where it’s completely inappropriate and disruptive to everyone else. You wanna take your kids to golden corral? absolutely fine, it’s a family restaurant and that’s to be expected, the water park? of course, the grocery store? obviously. But a fancy restaurant where most of the customers are adults trying to enjoy a relaxing night out? absolutely not, if your kid is going to be loud, obnoxious, whine about the food options, and cry when they wanna go home (which of course they would because they’re KIDS), then you’re not just ruining your own evening, but everyone else’s too. Late night comedy club? no, everyone can hear your baby crying because it’s 5 hours past their bedtime, and everyone is pissed because they paid to enjoy the show that you’re disrupting.

Most places like this don’t have a strict child-free policy unless it’s a bar or club, but they definitely SHOULD. Management doesn’t wanna turn away parents because it might make the business “look bad” despite the fact that their doing the majority of their patrons a massive disservice by allowing these disruptions to ruin everyone else’s experience. Sometimes adults want to go out to a place with no kids, without having to be restricted to options where the *only* activity is drinking. The worst part is that when places DO have childfree policies, parents will get belligerent and offended, as if they have some sort of divine right to bring their kids wherever they please, and can’t possibly fathom that nobody wants to spend their afternoon listening to their toddler play on an ipad at max volume, and scream like a banshee when it’s taken away.