The constant pressure to fit in, be approved by people, and the feeling of having affirmation from people to make yourself feel better. Seeking validation is a common concept in society, and often stems from people’s insecurities or desire to not be seen as an outcast.

The feeling of opinions, clothes, achievements, and needing a confidence boost is understandable. People seek validation everywhere they go. 

There are different types of validation, whether from yourself, friends, or parents. Confirmation can be good and harmful; there is a time or place to seek validation. 

Most people want their parents to recognize something they did that was good in order to feel accomplished in what they did. Their parents’ approval is most important to them for their self-worth. Students depend on their parents’ validation to feel good, and they worry if there is no acceptance in what they did, they are not good enough. Delaney Renaud (10), said “​​people seek validation for things where their parents didn’t give them enough of.”

Validation can be a core concept for children’s growth in a relationship with their parents. Children hearing they are accepted and heard helps them bring confidence, a good relationship with their family, and understand their feelings are valid. 

Validation for people relies on people’s positive feedback. While being with our friends, everyone tries to wear certain clothes, act a certain way, or seem perfect to be validated. Alec Waddell (10) expresses, “people seek validation so they feel important and wanted.” 

Sadly, validation surrounds everyone and everything; social media plays a big part in this, and people want to feel accepted online and offline. People love to seem like they live the perfect life or do activities because they are in style. 

Counting the number of likes and comments is a way people seek validation to believe they are good enough for other people. This is a type of validation that can stop, but a staff member at YLHS talked about how validation sticks with you all of your life; it just never goes away.  

To start fresh for the new year, there are so many ways to help people stop seeking validation. One way is to change the voice in your head to be more positive rather than negative towards yourself. 

If people are trying too hard to fit in with their groups, they need to change friends and learn that staying with this group of people will constantly make them feel insecure. Also, maybe they should take a step back and truly understand why you need to seek approval. 

Seeking validation is such a huge concept in our lives but not talked about enough. People need to validate themselves and not look for others to validate their feelings. Again, this is a concern in society, but it can be fixed if people change their mindset to not care for others and only do things for themselves.