Many young adults have friends.
> As much as others can deny, work is source of most people's friendships, relationships, mentorships, and other social interactions.
I will deny it. Citation or speak for yourself.
100% agree, that was poor phrasing on my part, it was meant to communicate where the responsibility for fixing the problem lies, not claim the problem was isolated to a single, or even small number of people.
> There's hardly a substitute for that outside.
Strongly, 100% disagree. Work friendships tend to be fleeting, causing job loss or retirement to be isolating events. Yes lasting friendships can and do form in the workplace (I've formed some even while working remotely!), but getting laid off is a great way to discover just how many of those work friendships were of convenience.
Meanwhile there are tons of ways to meet people outside of work. Dance classes, workshops, exercise classes, book clubs, beekeeping clubs, etc. I submit that a person who can't form friendships outside of work is unlikely to form the lasting kind at work, and is better off in the long wrong examining why that is, rather than papering over it with a temporary bandaide.
I think the university system is pretty hamstrung by the number of students it can accept. A lot of grad programs are coming online (I used to work at 2U which does this) and this is good both for students and the school as more students get an education and the school gets more income. Whether or not I want it to happen (I think it's probably an important part of reforming the university system) it seems like it's happening anyway.
> School?
I think most studies show this is pretty bad, so no.
> Let's all wake up in our pijamas, hop on a zoom
Probably twice a week I get through the whole work day in my PJs and I'm great at my job, so that sounds fine.
> live most of our lives like that?
Nah I'll go to the grocery store in the AM for supplies in my PJs but that's the extent of it.
It's time saving AND money saving
I also think it's fair to say that a lot of people are happy going to work and a lot of people really aren't. I feel like all of these threads are super passionate with one side trying to convince the (super unconvince-able) other side, which is why my responses are something like "get a situation together that works for you". "Convince millions of other people they're wrong and you're right about something they care about deeply" is a steeper climb.
And other commenters assert that most people don't get those things at work.
I think it's easy to mistake our own experiences as being similar to "most people". We should probably try to avoid ascribing our own preferences as being the same as the majority's.
Also, in the case of something as personal as friendships, it doesn't actually matter what "most people" do.