"I wish this was a one-off blip in my regimented friendship schedule, but all through 2025 I played the world's slowest game of message tennis. I'd invite a pal for dinner, only for the world to turn, the seasons pass, grey hairs gather at my temples, before a date was finally locked in. This sentiment seems to be common among my circle."
"In the horrible pyramid of late-capitalism needs, maintaining and valuing your friendships often falls depressingly low beneath having a job and paying rent. If I had a nickel every time I've had to let friends down the past year because I've been doing job interviews or the interminable tasks that seem to go with them, I'd have so many that I wouldn't have to keep applying for jobs."
Plans with friends frequently slip for months as messages and scheduling drag out, leaving long gaps between meetups. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey records a long-term decline in social connectedness that has worsened since the pandemic, with notable drops among men aged 24-44 and women aged 15-24. Work demands, job searches and rent obligations often push friendship maintenance down the priority list. Repeated job interviews and administrative tasks cause people to cancel or postpone social plans. Regularly scheduled activities, such as a monthly Dungeons and Dragons game, provide dependable organised social time. Communities increasingly rely on run clubs, book clubs and similar organised fun to secure social connection.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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