Just a mild passing thought and curiosity to mull over
This is so simple but put so well. Seeking validation is a perfectly normal human behaviour we need to normalize. Especially in the west where talking shit behind people’s backs is so normalized nobody ever knows what anyone really thinks of them.
I take it one step further in tangent. Anyone that complains to you about everyone else, is complaining about you when they are talking to anyone else. It is their form of social bonding, or just a lack of any self awareness filter. These types of people are not your friends. They are not bad people, but they can give an impression of comradery that is only an illusion.