ArcaMax

Dear Missing: If your BFF is isolated and anxious, she might have fallen into a hole of following online extremists who use a virtual pipeline to flood people with alternate realities; then the algorithm kicks in and feeds them more of the same.

For people who are already isolated and anxious, this constant triggering can make them even more anxious.

I’m not necessarily concluding that this has happened to your friend, but it is a possibility.

If statements she has made have rocked you to your core, then you should be honest about that. If your friend is simply on the opposite end of the political spectrum from you, there might be ways for you to discuss your divergent views without getting into an argument.

Doing so might be good for both of you, but ultimately you get to decide how much effort you want to put into this relationship.

I think you should hang in there for a bit, to see if you can revive your previous close connection. Why? Because you miss her.

Dear Amy: I am an adult male. “Laura” has been my best friend for over three years. We are very close, but we’re just that: best friends.

Over time, I have grown closer to her.

I told her how I feel about her and that it kills me that I feel that way, but she responded that she still wants to be “just friends.”

I don’t know what to do about it. I told her that maybe we shouldn’t hang around together so much, but she keeps texting me and coming over.

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