Whenever I talk about, it’s usually in the context of how it could effect an emerging generation or as an excuse to talk about one of my favorite cartoons. I try not to incorporate it into too many discussions, mostly because nihilism has some pretty sullen connotations. Whether you believe it or not as a philosophical principle, discussions about it can get pretty depressing.

Paramore

Turns out the ancient Greek knew what he was talking about. In the first study of its kind, a University of Kansas professor has defined the amount of time necessary to make a friend as well as how long it typically takes to move through the deepening stages of friendship. In a new report published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Associate Professor of Communication Studies Jeffrey Hall found that it takes roughly 50 hours of time together to move from mere acquaintance to casual friend, 90 hours to go from that stage to simple “friend” status and more than 200 hours before you can consider someone your close friend.

It’s possible that they aren’t, it’s just that you have trouble reading neutral facial expressions because of your family experience, a new study suggests.

Friendship generally is regarded as an unalloyed good. But scientists have found it also can be a conspiracy, a way to separate “us” from “them.”

Intimate relationships don't last because you love each other. They last because you make–and remake–a choice. If you’re in a relationship, I invite you to ask yourself this question: “Why am I choosing my partner today?” If you can’t find a satisfying answer, dig deeper and find one. It could be as simple as noticing that in your deepest heart’s truth, “I just do. Your loved one deserves to be enthusiastically chosen. Every day. You do, too.

Hailey Tuck

Carried away by love—for risk and for each other—two of the world's best freedivers went to the limits of their sport. Only one came back. By Gary Smith. (June 16, 2003)

Strokes and hugs are being edged out of our lives, with doctors, teachers and colleagues increasingly hesitant about social touching. Is this hypervigilance of boundaries beginning to harm our mental health?

Brownie McGhee

It's a challenge to keep up with all the rules of how you should act on a date. For many people, going the whole evening without checking their phone will be an excruciating exercise in willpower. If you really like someone, you don't want them to think you're sidebarring them, so you'll just have to cope somehow. In its eighth annual Singles in America Study, dating site Match asked over 5,000 singles in the US about dating rituals, including what people thought was appropriate use of their phone on a date.

Last week, the United Kingdom appointed a Minister for Loneliness to address the finding that nine million British people often or always feel lonely. To some, this may come as a surprise. It should not. Loneliness and social isolation are on the rise, leading many to call it an epidemic. In recent decades, the number of people with zero confidants has tripled, and most adults do not belong to a local community group. Consequently, more than one third of Americans over the age of 45 report feeling lonely...

As Americans try new ways to connect, the norms of dating are evolving. So how has online dating changed the connections we make?

Dating site OKCupid is trading its user pseudonyms for a real-name policy.

Hard to mix and mingle when you live in an auto-dependent suburban castle.

A new study on mating performance in humans suggests it is common for people to face difficulties in intimate relationships. “The current literature on the difficulties of human mating is thin, while many psychologist hold false beliefs about what causes people to perform poorly,” said study author Menelaos Apostolou, an associate professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Nicosia.

In the twelfth century, courtly love was all the rage with the French nobility. To participate in this trendiest of trends, though, you actually needed to know the rules.

Men are defenseless against female insanity. Sane women could act as a regulating force. Sane woman have to stand up against their crazy sisters and say : "Enough of that".

Well, that's one reason to stay in a relationship.

Dating the Dead. By Aaron Dabbah.