Raina Cohen

So that's maybe my biggest concern around the future of technology and how it might

shape our thinking about friendships.

I think I still have, I will hear myself apologize for things and then have to backtrack on the apology.

I think also like giving to people is one, so that might not feel vulnerable in the same way as sharing that something difficult is going on in your life.

But I'm thinking about a friend who hosted a small group of us at her house.

I think letting people into your home is,

is a very kind of intimate, revealing thing, period.

And she just fed us all and had multiple courses.

And her expression of love and care is food.

And also, my housewarming had brought these incredible

rooibos tea, shortbread cookies.

So there are ways that I think giving to other people and giving in a way that shows that you are maybe thinking about what in particular they might enjoy and giving them a little bit of exposure to your life, even if that's just like, what's the art on your walls?

What are the books on your shelf?

That can be a smaller form of vulnerability.

And I also think

it's useful to understand for yourself, like, what are the conditions that make it easier to be vulnerable?

I think for me, I'm probably more likely to open up in someone's home than I am out in public.

So you can have these, the setting can be kind of a gateway to that kind of understanding.

intimacy.

So those are ways to, I think, be a little bit vulnerable without feeling like you're immediately asking for help and that by giving support to people, you're also giving permission to maybe later ask for help and also giving them permission to ask for help as well.