The Epidemic of Flakiness

As I've grown older, I've noticed a disturbing trend. It used to be that, when I sent an e-mail or left a voice mail for someone, I could usually count on a response. Now I no longer expect a response unless it's a very close friend or member of the family. Most of the time, when I leave a message for an aquaintance, I do not receive a response.

Hand-in-hand with this trend is the tendency of people to commit to actions and then not follow through. I have had acquaintances assure me repeatedly they would attend certain events, only to be no-shows without any prior notice.

These trends may be a result of the fact that people are simply more accessible these days. Or maybe I just have chosen acquaintances that are a lot more flaky. Either way, it frustrates me.

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