Why Is It Hard to Make Friends Over 30?

Among other things, two couples becoming friends with each other is much harder than two individuals doing the same — "matchmaking for two" in other words. As Alex Williams points out, throwing children into the mix only complicates things further:

Suddenly, you are surrounded by a new circle of parent friends — but the emotional ties can be tenuous at best, as the comedian Louis C. K. related in one stand-up routine: “I spend whole days with people, I’m like, I never would have hung out with you, I didn’t choose you. Our children chose each other. Based on no criteria, by the way. They’re the same size.” Even when parent friends develop a bond, the resulting friendships can be fleeting — and subject to the whims of the children themselves.

As you can imagine, to a 17 year-old the headline is a little frightening.