How to Make Hanging Out Happen

It's not about having more time.

Earlier this week, I posted an article by journalist

Derek Thompson

on my Instagram grid: Why American’s Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out. The comments were full of folks who said they had recognized the lack of social ties in their lives and taken steps to fix it. There were also folks lamenting the structural problems that got us to this sad state of affairs in the first place.

So, when I found myself sitting in the parking lot of H-E-B the next morning, typing out a 500 word Instagram story, I realized that my thoughts would be better delivered in email form.¹ And, now I’m here in your inbox to talk about hanging out and how we can do more of it.

Let’s dive in. One lovely woman said the following to me:

Spending time with friends used to be a given, now people behave like it’s an obligation to fit in. The suburbs are even worse for it, where every interaction seems to have to be planned, rather than spontaneous, bc people have to commute to get to a place to meet up.

This rings true in what I see with…