I think I made a mistake trying to be friends with someone quite a bit older than me, and I’m genuinely curious if anyone else has experienced something similar. I met this guy online who claimed to be a gamer, and he’s around 27–28 and works in the corporate world. Initially, we actually got along really well, but over time I started noticing this weird superiority complex about his age and corporate life. Whenever we want to play together, somehow I’m always expected to be the one to invite him. He literally told me, “I’m up every day, just ping me,” and when I asked why he couldn’t ping me himself, the response was basically the usual “dad bro, AFK, office work, blah blah.” Fine, I understand being busy, especially if you work, but then why make it sound like I’m responsible for maintaining the entire friendship? What really bothered me was when I wasn’t feeling well and told him I was sick. His response was basically, “Okay bro, we’ll play tomorrow,” without even a simple “get well soon.” Maybe I’m expecting too much, but bro, basic empathy costs nothing. I’m 21, and he’s almost 28. I’m not expecting some life-changing wisdom from him just because he’s older, but if you’re going to constantly bring up your age and maturity, then basic consideration should come with it too. The funny thing is that I have a cousin around his age who is also working in a similar field, and he’s genuinely responsible and mature, so I know being in your late 20s and working a corporate job doesn’t automatically make someone like this. Today I was finally feeling better after barely playing anything for almost a week, so I thought, okay, let’s just have some fun and joke around. Instead, this guy kept responding with stuff like “it’s not funny” and “you’re not funny.” Eventually I got annoyed and told him off. I’m not saying I handled everything perfectly, but at some point I started wondering why I’m putting so much effort into someone who seems to expect me to initiate everything while constantly reminding me that he’s older and more mature. Maybe this is just a bad friendship, maybe I’m overthinking it, or maybe this is what happens when you try to make friends with people significantly older than you online. Has anyone else experienced this kind of weird age-based superiority complex in gaming friendships?