Tag. Hope I can contribute in some way going forward.

Been dealing with a low grade kind of depression my whole life basically, with occasional major episodes.  Been on medication for a few years, which is helpful, but only to a point.  Been trying therapy but that's been... meh.  Have an appointment tomorrow actually.  But, I really don't like discussing my feelings, which is counterproductive to the whole process.

Really depends.  There are multiple forms of depression, and it manifests differently among different people.

The general symptoms are a loss of interest in most things, hopelessness, and negative thoughts.

If you have Netflix, check out Bojack Horseman, season 4 Episode 6 (Stupid Piece of Shit).  It's one of the better examples of depression in media.

You're confusing depression with sadness.  Watching world news can make you sad or upset, but rarely truly depressed.

Sadness is a realistic reaction to something negative that has happened.  I.e. my dog died and I'll miss him, and I feel like crying.
Depression is a distorted reaction to something negative that has happened, usually involving negative thoughts targeted at oneself.  I.e. my dog died, and I'll never be happy again, and my dog was the only creature in the world that actually cared about me, and now I have no reason to live, and I'm worthless.
Or it could just be all that negative thinking without a dead dog or any actual trigger.

Party!

Constantly feeling sad and hopeless.
Having no sense of direction, purpose, or urgency.
Constant negative/pessimistic attitude towards everything, including yourself.
This is just to name a few.

I wouldn't say I have depression anymore but I have had lots of experience with it.

Since my hormones started at around ~12 or so until about 23. Sometimes more severe than other times. The worst was contemplating suicide and the 2nd worst was this constant lingering feeling when I was in some classes of putting an imaginary gun to my head and going boom. I didn't realize how bad it was until I got out of it. Throughout that time I was constantly pessimistic, and believed bad things happened to me because of certain acts that I did. I didn't care to keep hygienic or to have good clothes or anything, or to eat well. I didn't have many passions, I was always single minded.

I am 25 now and feel pretty satisfied. Anyone interested in any of my personal tips or my turning point, ask away! But for now I hope things are looking up for you all.

It's not something that can be definitely defined, it affects people differently.

I used to be really depressed a lot when I was younger because I used to get bullied and didn't have many friends. I randomly get depressed here and there but lately most of my friends have been ignoring me and whenever I try to chill with them they read my message inviting them to hang out but don't reply so I've just felt sorta lonely in the past few months. Have tried to make new friends but it hasn't really worked out.

Unfortunately, what works for someone won't work for everyone.

No... that's really not how it works.  Because brain chemistry.

With all due respect, if you haven't experienced depression and have no expertise in the subject, you probably shouldn't be advising depressed people.