Do you read advice columns?

In My Humble Opinion
1

If so, would you ever write into one?

I LOVE reading advice columns! It is like a peek into other people’s effed up lives, much like reading these boards :cool:

That said, I can’t imagine ever writing in to one. I am quite good at judging myself, I don’t need the entire readership of a syndicated column judging me too:D

On a related note, my favorites are Miss Manners and Carolyn Hax (both of whom I read at washingtonpost.com), Dan Savage and my newest find, AskABouncerandABlonde…

2

Long time reader, but never a writer. I really enjoy Miss Manners, Savage Love, and my new favorite Table Manners on CHOW

3

I used to, but honestly most of the people who write in ask really dumb things. It’s often family drama. I had enough of that in real life. I also think most of the questions asked are fake.

4

I certainly do. I also know a few people who write them, mostly about relationships and sex (okay so that covers most of them). Some observations:

  1. People are crazy.
  2. People are so crazy columnists don’t need to make up letters (especially with e-mail). The only time I’ve witnessed anything close to that was in a teen advice column where they wanted to cover a certain topic, so they tweaked a letter.
  3. They tweak letters, almost always for space, clarity and privacy. This is actually easier said than done because you have to answer the question knowing more information than the reader (who only gets the edited letter) but still have your answer make sense.
  4. It’s surprising how many people don’t seem to know how to use Google.
5

Three-fourths of the letters are people saying, “People always take advantage of me by asking me to do something I don’t want to do, and so I do it, and I don’t want them to anymore; what can I do?” The other fourth is divided between people who want to know what to do about their cold/abusive partner, and people wanting to know how to tell someone that something they do is annoying.

6

Love them. I remember reading Dear Abby and Ann Landers as a child, as well as Emily Post in one of my mother’s magazines. I always read Carolyn Hax, Miss Manners, and Ask Amy now. On Thursday’s I read Prudence in Slate and Margo on WoWoW or whatever it is called.

7

Dear Abby is a lot better now than it was in the old days, when she went for the snappy reply instead of the thoughtful one.

8

I like them. I currently read Dear Abby and The Vine on Tomato Nation.

I need to find Miss Manners and Prudence again though, I think. I remember liking them too.

9

PS - MareIt, do you believe that Nice People Suck?:cool: :smiley:

10

Why yes, saje, I do! I was here ages ago but signed up with a new sn because I couldn’t remember my old one :frowning:

I read Prudence too, but I tend to read her live chat on WashingtonPost.com more than her actual column

11

I didn’t think there would be too many others out there w/ that handle :slight_smile: But damn, if it wasn’t you, that’s be an interesting question to explain!

I’ll have to check out the Wash. Post site, thanks!

12

Just to let you know MareIt, but it’s against board rules to have more than one user name. Since you didn’t know that, I’m sure it’s no big deal to get it taken care of. Just email the mods and repeat what you’ve said here. Then they can probably even merge your old account with this one. :slight_smile:
And to answer the OP, I haven’t read any advice columns since I was a kid and Dear Abby was the voice of reason. I kinda miss them though…

13

I enjoy reading them, though I often roll my eyes at both the questions AND the advice. It’s kind of like the Dope! :smiley:

14

I read Dear Abby/Ann Landers for a bit when I started reading the paper thoroughly way back in the day. But I realized after a bit they were the same old, same old, so I stopped.

I read Savage Love for a bit (because it was clearly not the same old, same old), but he went off the deep end on some subjects so I stopped. The guy is just too full of himself to understand the concept of how others might feel about things, which in turn creates friction that we really don’t need.

15

I used to religiously read Dear Abby when I was a kid and teen and well into my 20’s. I know that the Abby of my youth is no longer with us but I stopped reading it long before she passed.

16

I still read some Abby; I once read all the Dear Prudence back as far as Salon kept on-line records. Sometimes it brings me back to the simple math of humanity and away from the out of control formulas and corrections reported by Headline News.

17

There used to be an advice column written by a DR., Doc Molnar , I believe.
Once a guy wrote about his son having an ulcer . The sons doctor told him he could try eating any foods he wanted and quit the ones that made him feel bad. The old man had an ulcer most his life and on doctors advice kept a very simple and bland diet. He was aghast to find that he could have eaten a much more varied diet in todays medicine.
Molnar said medicine changes. That is what is acceptable now.

18

This is what I came in to post, although I’d say that “people wanting to know how to tell someone that something they do is annoying” is by far the most prevalent.

19

You’re right. Sometimes I think what they really want is for the columnist to come and tell the person for them.

20

I cant believe no one has mentioned Since You Asked on Salon.com. Generally NOT your standard advice column questions or answers!