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Why ‘All Good’ Could Signal the End of Your Friendship

A dive into frustrations as one grapples with distant friends and the fragility of relationships in the social media age.

Araci Matos
4 min readAug 12, 2024

I am almost certain that a friend of mine got divorced.

In the modern era, the signs are very evident on social media: deleting photos of the partner, unfollowing each other, and posting those irritating Instagram stories where she strangely radiates happiness — it might all be a big lie.

Some still love to show how wonderfully their lives are going when that is not the case.

The apparent signs are unmasked by a cheeky comment from a friend under a new photo, “the most attractive single woman in town,” and random photos where the left-hand shows no wedding ring.

With perverse curiosity, I ask her, “Is everything okay with you?”

I worry about what might be going through her mind.

I think about what a divorce or a separation—especially for someone like her who has a child—can do to people’s lives. I put myself in her shoes and feel scared.

When I was single, such anguish would never have occurred to me.

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Araci Matos
Araci Matos

Written by Araci Matos

Trying to be the Portuguese Annie Ernaux or Elena Ferrante

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