My Philosophy for Existence

I took a class during my undergrad called 'The Philosophy of Science' that was a complete waste of my time, but did introduce an interesting idea. One school of thought out there is that a table is only a table when we observe it, otherwise it simply isn't. As one of the only people in the room who was an actual scientist I found this idea, and the multi-week discussion and paper that followed it, ridiculous, but it has sparked a similar idea in me.

What if we only exist because of our presence in the minds of others? 

If this were true then we could take solace in knowing that somewhere, someone is thinking of us. It could be a good thought, like that of a parent or friend who's missing you, or it could be negative, like someone dwelling over a fight you had. It's an interesting idea, at least to me.

Homo sapiens are social creatures, and unless you are a highly skilled and/or magical animal, you're likely a member of this species (because, you know, reading English). Social ostracization is not conducive to furthering your genetic contribution to the human species, thus being noticed and thought of by others is an evolutionary imperative. 

Now I'm not saying that if no one were thinking about you for even a second you'd blink out of existence. That's as ridiculous as saying the table doesn't exist if no one is observing it. Matter is matter, and follows physical laws that prohibit its random creation and destruction. What I'm saying is that if in, say, the course of a day you don't cross at least one other person's mind you might as well not exist. There is no point in being, at least in the context of human existence, if you are doing so completely alone. 

Fortunately, unless you are a hermit living in the hills, not coming across another human being, this is impossible. Even those who feel completely alone, unloved, abandoned by society will catch the eye of someone, will flit through someone's mind, thus validating their existence. For the majority of the human population it's even better than that: there's almost always going to be someone, whether it be a friend, parent, aunt, partner, etc., who loves you and spends at least a minute every day thinking about you. 

So it may be a weird concept, and it may stem from one of my least favorite subjects, but it's an intriguing idea to me.