If you're trying to change your lifestyle, it's more difficult when you have a bad friend constantly enabling the behavior you're trying to cease.
Google may not have a responsibility to be a good friend, but personally I'd prefer not to have a bad friend always following me around, thus I'm a little less excited about this feature.
The author seems to think questions like "why would someone use you over Google?" automatically come from a place of judgement. But a friend can ask that from a place of curiosity. You can have a conversation about it, where they try to understand and where you see important things you don't have good answers to.
I expect my friends to cheer for me and help me live my best life, but I also expect them to poke and prod and question and sanity-check me when I make big decisions. A friend can be supportive and challenge you at the same time.
I would feel hurt and disappointed if I knew a friend had serious reservations about something I was doing but chose not to voice them, instead putting on a smile and pretending it's a great plan. It doesn't feel very friend-y for someone to cheer me as I metaphorically drive off a cliff.
I think if a friend drove two hours to my house and threatened physical violence because they disapproved of my financial and technology decisions, I would have one less friend.
This is a nice idea, and I am glad he includes the "precommitments are even better with a friend" section: An app is something you can always turn off. Betraying a pact you've made with another person is another thing entirely.
The world has enough problems for you, you should be your own friend, not another source of abuse. Friend doesn't mean enabler, though. Good friends don't let their friends do bad things.
If a friend is going to leave you out of an event purely because you do not use their preferred BigTech-facilitated chat tool, then I have done bad news for you: that person might not actually be your friend. Friends don’t treat each other that way.
How can wanting to chill with friends possibly make them a bad friend? You brought up a good point but then kind of ruined it with such a wild accusation.
If you're good enough friends with someone, and asshole enough, you can simply say that X is the only app you use, and they'll follow.
A single intolerant person can have a huge influence on a group of people that doesn't care to much. Of course, this will earn you a lot of eyerolls, and some friends may decide that not talking to you is easier.
Google may not have a responsibility to be a good friend, but personally I'd prefer not to have a bad friend always following me around, thus I'm a little less excited about this feature.
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