I Saw the Instagram Story

Have you ever seen an Instagram Story of people hanging out without you and suddenly decided you have no friends, everyone secretly hates you, and you should probably move to a new city? Same! This week, we’re talking about being left out: the group chats you’re not in, the dinners you weren’t invited to, and the deeply humbling experience of zooming into the reflection of a martini glass to figure out who else was there. I’m also telling the story of the time my friends made an entirely new version of our group chat without me—and I was so delusional I searched my phone because I thought I had accidentally muted it. Spoiler: I had not. We’re getting into why being left out hurts so fucking badly, the difference between actually being excluded and your friends simply having lives that unfortunately do not revolve around you, and why sometimes you don’t even want to go—you just want the ceremonial invitation. LET ME reject YOU. Plus, in Guest Therapy: Hinge pen pals, men who will happily plan your hypothetical wedding but cannot plan drinks for Thursday, and why 72 hours of nonstop texting does not, in fact, make him your future husband. If you’ve ever conducted a psychological autopsy over an Instagram Story, this one’s for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices