Illustrated by Sylvain Chan
What do I do if the person I’m dating is 26 and still lives with their parents?
The important thing to know here is: are they doing this out of necessity? Because the fear of never being able to afford your own place is something that probably 90% of Gen Z can say they’ve experienced at some point in their life. If they’re genuinely working, saving and aiming to make their own way then I would say it’s not such a big deal. If they’re an overgrown manchild living in the basement with no ambitions or prospects, please face the music and run far away immediately.
I know who’s stealing my food on my floor but I don’t know how to confront them without it being awkward.
The serious answer is that you should be able to talk to them without it seriously affecting the vibe; just explain that you don’t start anything but you’ve noticed that your food is depleting rapidly and you’d appreciate it if everyone recognised that not everything is for sharing. You could even say that you’ve talked to everyone on the floor about this to make it seem like you’re not accusing them specifically. If this method of resolution doesn’t appeal to you Plan B could be to put an excessive amount of laxatives in the food and watch as they never touch your stuff again.
I really dislike this one person on my course and want to narc them for using Generative AI for all their essays (one reason of many for said hatred).
You should narc, and don’t feel guilty – it’s the consequences of their actions. If they didn’t want to get in trouble, they shouldn’t have done it in the first place.
Just make sure you hold other people to the same standards and are not narc-ing on this person solely because you hate dislike them.
Alternative viewpoint: karma will get them. Unserious brainless people don’t tend to make it far in life and outsourcing your brain to generative AI is an indication of the lowest intelligence so I wouldn’t worry about them because they’ll deal with the consequences of their lazy complacent lifestyle sooner or later.
Reel ghosting
Ooof, this is an all too common reality of the digital age, and I’m really sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. While WhatsApp conversations suggest you’re in a committed conversation, reels are a real fling compared to that. But you should try to remind yourself that being sent reels is probably still a sign that this person appreciates and cares for you, or at least appreciates that they have somebody who shares their sense of humour. There’s something very intentional about whom you choose to send your reels to; you’re always questioning: Will they get what it’s about? Will they laugh as hard as I did? Will it go straight over their head? So try to seek solace in the fact that you’re someone who ticks all those boxes for them! Now to tackle the WhatsApp ghosting… You can either shamelessly spam them, or let your existence fade into the abyss as you nonchalantly wait for a response. But there is one final option: confront them on Instagram DMs with it. Instead of hearting that next mindless reel they send, let them know, it just won’t cut it anymore.
I miss my girlfriend
And, I miss my long distance boyfriend, so I guess we are both equally pathetic. If you can afford to visit them, do it. I’m a sucker for big romantic gestures, and showing up for someone you love? That’s the move. Don’t overthink it.
But if you’re in a place where you simply have to wait it out – I’m genuinely sorry. I know it’s agonising to be away from your partner. What’s worked for me is finding real connection through shared activities, both spontaneous little moments and things you build into your routine. Solve the daily Globe together. Make shared bucket lists. Watch movies at the same time. It sounds small, but it adds up.
And of course, if all else fails and you miss their physical presence… make use of that phone. If you know what I mean. Oops!
