The Humanitas Forum

Friendship, like family and community, has fallen on hard times in our modern world.  Mobility, busyness, digital technology and numerous other factors have contributed to the thinning—if not the disappearance—of “true friendship.”  Friendship has become “the characteristically modern …

Few books reward close reading—and rereading and reading yet again—as richly as does C. S. Lewis’s The Four Loves.  Each of the “four loves”—affection, friendship, Eros, and charity—has fallen on hard times in our modern world, something Lewis …

Understanding the social impact of Facebook and the other social media is an ongoing challenge.  Yes, it helps us stay in touch with lots of friends and acquaintances.  It’s a good way to quickly pass on certain kinds …

Phubbing is phone-snubbing.  It happens when someone pays attention to their mobile phone instead of the people in their immediate presence.  Many of us are guilty!  We’re also guilty of excusing our companions when they reach for …

The Internet is an integral part of life for most of us.  We send e-mail, we text, we surf, we Skype, we watch YouTube, we buy and we sell.  But do we understand how this computer-mediated world impacts …

Which is better, the hearty laugh of a friend over a cup of chai, or the “LOL” in a text from the same friend?  There is a difference!  

“Laughing-out-loud” could just be a distracted throw-away line.  …

We all have friends that we don’t know.  And we are all friends to others who don’t know us.  These relationships are casual, rather than intimate—thin, rather than thick.  Perhaps, it’s better to talk of acquaintances instead …