Long Live Guys’ Night
The author reflects on the importance of male friendship rituals, specifically 'guys' night,' as a remedy for the isolation often felt by expatriates and adults. He cites data on the decline of close friendships among men to emphasize the necessity of intentional social connection.
Why it matters
It addresses the growing social crisis of loneliness and the role of community rituals in maintaining mental health and social cohesion.
How a miraculous social ritual nourished me in a strange land
Thomas Hoepker / Magnum July 11, 2026, 8 AM ET Share Save My early days of expatriation were disorienting. It was 2011, and I had recently gotten married and moved to Paris. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my friendships to that point had depended on proximity: Once I crossed the Atlantic, many of them dwindled to digital approximations of intimacy. I went long stretches without talking to Carlos, my closest confidant since high school, even though we’d been like family when we lived in Brooklyn.
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