NPR | Most Americans are Lonely

He is definitely falling head over heels for you. Your platonic friendship won’t last. 

My partner loves and accepts me the way I am, even with my quirks and weird habits. 

He hoards—but this is an endearing quirk to me. 

The tit-for-tat continued despite the supposed truce. 

It was a tit-for-tat of sorts, something that had continued for quite a while.

In your own words, please briefly summarize the article.

Prior to reading this article, were you familiar with services that offered pay-to-hire friendships?

What do you think about pay-to-hire friendships? Would you pay to hire a friend? (Have you already?)

What do you think is most important in friendship? 

Do you think your friendship is valuable? Do you think you’re a good friend? How much would you pay for your friendship? 

On the topic of friendship, author Aldous Huxley writes: “One of the principal functions of a friend is to suffer… the punishments that we should like, but are unable, to inflict upon our enemies.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?     

If you have a question or questions that you'd like to discuss during your class, please write them down.

What exactly is my friendship worth? 

Pay-to-hire Friendships

내 우정의 값어치는 정확히 얼마나 될까?

A report released by the Harvard School of Education indicated that about 61% of young adults in America feel lonely. In the US, RentaFriend, a <span style="12pt; font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">platonic [1] friend rental service, offers a capitalistic solution. Although the platonic companionship market has existed for over two decades in Japan, this is a relatively new concept to Americans and in some other parts of the world. You might think that paying for friendship isn’t worth it. It goes against the ideal of friendship we’ve seen in pop culture: “Harry Potter,” “Friends,” “Sex and the City,” etc. But realistically, social connections require a great deal of effort and skill, which doesn’t come naturally to all of us. So-called “organic” relationships are tricky. We’re best suited to certain kinds of people who are willing to put up with our <span style="12pt; font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">quirks [2]. And friendships can be volatile, as even after a small argument, a friend might be left wondering: Is this relationship worth an apology? In a pay-to-hire friendship, you get none of these worries. There is comfort in knowing that your relationship is nothing more than a <span style="12pt; font-family: Georgia; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tit-for-tat [3], a paid service. It is a service that continues as long as the price is right, and by being okay with a “substandard” friendship, you can be secure in the confidence that your relationship is linked only to your ability to pay and nothing else.  Like electricity, people take the path of least resistance. In a world where friendship can come at $47 an hour, one might wonder: What exactly is my friendship worth?

<span style="font-family:'Nanum Myeongjo',serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">하버드 교육대학원의 연구 보고서에 따르면 미국 젊은 성인층의 약 61퍼센트가 외로움을 느낀다고 합니다. 미국에서는 플라토닉한 친구를 빌려주는 서비스인 렌트어프렌드(RentaFriend)가 자본주의적 솔루션을 제시하고 있습니다. 플라토닉 동반자 시장이 일본에서는 20년 넘게 존재해 왔지만, 미국인과 세계의 다른 지역에서는 비교적 새로운 개념입니다. <span style="font-family:'Nanum Myeongjo',serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">여러분은 돈을 주고 우정을 사는 것은 그럴 만한 가치가 없는 짓이라고 생각할 수 있습니다. 이것은 "해리포터", "프렌즈", "섹스 앤 더 시티" 등 대중 문화에서 본 우정의 이상에 위배됩니다. 그러나 현실적으로 사회적 관계에는 많은 노력과 기술이 필요하며, 이것은 우리에게 자연스럽게 생기지 않습니다. 소위 “유기적” 관계는 까다롭습니다. 우리는 우리의 변덕을 기꺼이 참아내는 특정 부류의 사람들과 가장 잘 맞습니다. 그리고 우정이란, 사소한 말다툼 후에 안정적이지 않을 수도 있으며, 친구는 “이러한 관계가 사과할 가치가 있을까?”라는 의문을 가질 수 있습니다.  <span style="font-family:'Nanum Myeongjo',serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">돈을 내고 우정을 사는 계약 관계에서는 이런 걱정이 전혀 없습니다. 여러분의 관계가 유료 서비스인 “받은 만큼만 돌려주는 관계”에 불과하다는 사실을 알면 위안이 됩니다. 가격만 맞으면 계속되는 서비스이며, “기대에 못 미치는” 우정도 괜찮다고 받아들인다면, 여러분은 이 관계가 오직 여러분의 지불 능력에만 연결되어 있을 뿐 다른 어떤 것도 관련되지 않는다고 확신 할 수 있습니다. <span style="font-family:'Nanum Myeongjo',serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">전기와 마찬가지로 사람들은 서로 저항이 적은 사람들에게 끌리기 마련입니다. 시간당 47달러를 내고 “우정”을 살 수 있는 세상에서 우리는 이런 의문을 가져볼 법합니다. “내 우정의 값어치는 정확히 얼마나 될까?”