The Toxic Cost of Exclusion: When Friendship Becomes a Zero Sum Game The recent trend of social exclusion has taken on a new form in close friendships.
A disturbing pattern is emerging where friends are being excluded from intimate gatherings and celebrations not because they're unwanted but because others within the group have decided their presence would disrupt dynamics.
In one instance, a reader, Singled Out and Sad Friend, wrote to an advice column about being repeatedly uninvited to her friend's birthday parties.