I'm really, really getting frustrated by the advice Dear Abby hands out to people on a daily basis. Millions of people read this, and many times, what she has to say is incorrect!
Understand that I'm not just saying I don't agree with it. I've loosely kept track of her columns during the last few months, and about one-fifth of them are devoted to people writing in saying she gave bad advice. Then there's another fifth of the columns devoted to public messages, which are fine but really aren't advice. That leaves 60 percent of her columns to actually giving advice, again, some of it being bad.
The biggest problem I see is Dear Abby never takes into account the other side of the story. Understandably, this is diffcult, due to the fact that she doesn't have the other side. But at the very least, she could theorize the other side, and why the person writing may have the problem.
I'm not saying I can do a better job addressing EVERY topic, but at the very least, I can reserve time here to contemplate some things concerning relationships. And in sticking with the technology-based theme, the advice I give relies on being able to communicate appropriately not just in person, but via email, chat, phone, etc.
I'll start with some basic advice I've given to friends in the past, but feel free to write to
, and I'll address your question individually. I figure if I can help my closest friends, I might as well try to help strangers too, right?
As for Dear Abby, I may offer rebuttals occasionally concerning something I read. It is interesting to see what problems exist in society, but it's too bad the only answers given to them now are from someone who has evidently lost touch.
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