As the midweek dinner approaches, I keep an eagle eye on my WhatsApp. Who’s going to bottle first? Inevitably, someone will. “Hi, guys, can we move Wednesday’s dinner to next week? Soz. Snowed under .” It’s as predictable as clockwork. I know this because I know my friends, and I know myself. It’s a game of chicken, willing someone to beat you to cancellation, thus allowing you to retain the moral high ground while securing the best kind of night in: the unexpected, guilt-free one.

How did it come to this – to loving your friends, yet loving the prospect of a bonus night on the couch even more? It gives new meaning to the term “cancel culture” and is so very 2025.

“Because our lives are squeezed, when the catch-up comes along, it’s like another thing on the to-do list,” says Melbourne wr

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