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Chatbots Are Like Potato Chips: Understanding Loneliness in the Digital Age
We are talking to each other in person less and to chatbots more. Are these changes in our social interactions contributing to the current loneliness epidemic?
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What Can a Tornado Teach Us About Kindness?
One evening back in May of 2011, tornado sirens went off in a small city in Southwestern Missouri called Joplin. Thousands of homes were destroyed in the tornado, about a third of the town’s 50,000
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The Friend-Group Fallacy
My friendships exist in silos. Each hangout is a feverish one-on-one where we share fries and eye contact, confessions, rants, gossip, and mutual attempts at amateur therapy. This patchwork of get-togethers structures my week: a
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Why We Think We Deserve Good Karma—And Others Don’t
For thousands of years, people have waited on karma to catch up with their good behavior—or promised it would roll around for anyone who crossed them. The lure of karmic thinking is that if you
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Why Narcissists Emerge as Leaders Even in Childhood
Narcissistic leaders both fascinate and repel us. They can be charming, act assertively and articulate visions that may inspire confidence, especially in times of uncertainty. This can attract many followers. In 1931 Sigmund Freud, the father
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A Guide to Mastering Small Talk With Just About Anyone
You’re standing in line at the supermarket or drugstore when a stranger speaks up. … In some scenarios, such as an upcoming work or networking event, people can prepare ahead of time for the expected
