“Be a villager…just for your people”: Why friendship isn’t the antidote to young people’s loneliness
This kind of incisive discourse has permeated the public sphere and digital landscape since the pandemic. Initially, like many of my peers, I lapped it up eagerly, adopted each new phrase and the sentiments behind it, and embraced apps for friendship and weekly dinners. They delivered on their promise to introduce me to friendly faces and proved to be solid options for moving to a different city or entering a new life stage: University, postgraduate, and working life.