You don’t live in a bubble; you’re surrounded by many other people. This is a good thing because how you interact with others helps your mind grow. These interactions aren’t just about you. In the social world, we all want to be seen as unique. It feels good when people like what you do. This is similar to how the price of something depends on how valuable it seems to be, not just on math.

To feel good about ourselves, we want others to think well of us. That’s why it’s important to have skills in something specific. We get recognition when we’re good at something. For example, a mechanic wants other mechanics to say they’re good because only an expert can judge another expert. When someone recognizes your skills, you feel more sure about who you are and what you do.

An expert named Alain Ehrenberg says more people in Western countries are getting depressed because we don’t have as many specialized skills. A few decades ago, it was easier to know who you were. Skilled workers usually stayed in one place for a long time. But today, we like to be flexible and move around, which means we have to keep changing who we are. This makes it hard for people to figure out who they are, and that can make them feel lost and sad.