Deep Secrets Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection

Also joining me is a professor of developmental psychology at NYU, an author of the book Deep Secrets, Boys' Friendships, And The Crisis Of Connection. Her book was also the inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film Close.

I'll read a quote for 12-year-old boys that says something soft. I love him so much from my book, Deep Secrets.

And then as they get older, you start to hear this sort of stereotypic man-up language.

So you start to hear things like, it's hard to find, you know, basically, it's hard to find friendships and I don't want them anymore.

You know, that basically I don't need them. It's okay, whatever.

And their language becomes much more, uh, both either sort of depressed, um, and you hear a sadness in their interviews.

Or it becomes this sort of, I don't care, whatever, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.