6.30.2006
Less Friends? WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!
I loved Ze Frank's response on the show today to the new Duke study that finds that North Americans today have fewer confidants than they did twenty years ago. Lynn Smith-Lovin, the study's coordinator, claims in an alarmist fashion that, "This change indicates something that’s not good for our society. Ties with a close network of people create a safety net. These ties also lead to civic engagement and local political action." Boo alarmism.
Frank's rebuttal was rife with that sassy deconstruction I like so much: "Hey here's an idea: maybe because this massively networked world is still in its adolescence we're still trying to work out the rules of communication and friendship. Just because you see something that we traditionally relied on disappear doesn't mean we're fucked." He also points out that a friend is someone who "constantly reminds you of who they perceive you to be at the expense of who you'd like to become." Word to that.
This is Ryan, stealing the news so you don't have to.
