Men’s lack of deep, close friendships has been in the spotlight lately. A recent Pew Research Center study found that 54% of women say they turn to a friend for emotional support, but only 38% of men say they do. Essayist Sam Graham-Felsen and American Institute for Boys and Men CEO Richard Reeves join John Yang to discuss why some men seem to struggle with maintaining social connections.
I guess this is just a matter of opinion, but are any of those things “support”? Like, “I need help moving a couch” isn’t really the same as “I am having an existential crisis and I need help” is it?
I guess I do bond during the couch moving, somewhat?
I guess I define support as “help from others for things that are difficult or impossible for you to do alone”. I would possibly even argue that someone that takes time out of their life to physically come to you to help you move a couch is being more supportive than someone that is on the other end of a txt message telling you “that must really suck” when you open up about an emotional/relationship problem you’re having.
How would my mate help me with the existential crisis? He can help me moving a sofa, lend me money, help to fill the tax return etc.
By being supportive. Emotional support is, in fact, support.