Friendship, Brotherhood, Coverage
Friends are super important.
Friends tell each other things.
Things they don't tell their parents.
-Stranger Things (Netflix)
COVERAGE was a code my younger brother and I lived by as teenagers, decades ago. Simple, but absolute: when you were out there in the world — at school, on the court, out at night — you weren’t alone. You moved through life knowing, without question, that the people around you had your back. No doubts. No hesitation. EVER.
But over time, this bro-thing evolved into something much bigger, greater. It wasn’t just about protection — it was about trust, loyalty, certainty. It meant:
- Knowing, without question, that your people would never betray you.
- Never having to second-guess the loyalty of your family and closest friends.
- Feeling, deep in your bones, that your people were your island of safety and refuge. Always.
Was coverage naive? No. We always knew that as we got older and life became more complicated, our code would be tested. That was the point — test it all you want, it wouldn’t break. It can't. Because coverage wasn’t just a belief. It was our omertà — not a code of silence, but a covenant of brotherhood.
But today, covenants like these are unraveling. The reasons are many, but at the core, one truth stands out: We stopped choosing each other. We stopped showing up, stopped counting on the people around us. We atomized and drifted into solo journeys. We turned inward, eyes locked on the cocaine silicon and mirrored glass in our hands — away from the flesh, blood, grit, and ground of the real world.
Too many of us keep pulling that hollow, synthetic lever, chasing digital illusions while the real, beating hearts around us fade into the background. Technology promised us freedom, connection, community. Instead, we got a zero-sum, winner-takes-all free-for-all — one that hasn’t just pulled us apart, but also turned us against one another.
Coverage was our code. You, no doubt, have your own. I can’t imagine my life without it. So when I see the data — the collapse of friendships, the vanishing social spaces, the steep decline in time spent together — I'm stunned. Saddened. Maybe it's true that younger generations don’t crave and covet what we once did. But I don't buy that for a second. The surge in depression, anxiety, and suicide among teens and young adults makes it painfully clear: something is broken. Badly.
We need to get back to basics. And there’s nothing more fundamental — or more necessary and vital, especially for the young — than deep friendships, tight-knit groups, and broad, varied social bonds that hold firm. The tighter, the better. The more coverage, the stronger.