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It Might Be Time to Break Up Your Pandemic Pod
You’ve been vaccinated. You’ve joyfully ripped off your mask when outdoors. Now it’s time to pop your quarantine bubble, right? But finding a good moment to break up the pandemic pod can be tricky. Do
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How the Pandemic is Changing Children’s Friendships
Just one year ago, kids could hold their friends’ hands. They shared blankets at sleepovers. They clustered around birthday cakes to help blow out the candles. And now they don’t. Many things in our pandemic-stricken
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The Pandemic Has Erased Entire Categories of Friendship
… American culture does not have many words to describe different levels or types of friendship, but for our purposes, sociology does provide a useful concept: weak ties. The term was coined in 1973 by the Stanford
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Bring Fun Back Into Your Friendships—Despite the Covid Pandemic
Dear Ask Bonds, I miss my friends. Social distancing makes it hard—and not that fun—to get together. And it’s not even an option to see friends who live far away—no one can travel because of
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What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?
… In the past few decades, Americans have broadened their image of what constitutes a legitimate romantic relationship: Courthouses now issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Americans are getting married later in life than ever before, and
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Technology in Context: The Surprising Social Upsides of Constant Connectivity
The very same technologies that make social distancing bearable in the age of COVID-19 have also been cited among leading causes of social isolation and mental health issues. Psychological research suggests a more nuanced reality.
