When I was a teenager, I had friends who were pretty much accidents of geography and school districting. This is not to say that they weren't real friends, but there was nothing really fundamentally holding us together other than being kids in the same place at the same time. I remember feeling lonely a lot.

After touring a dozen colleges, I picked my eventual alma mater because I met a bunch of computer science students who I recognized as my tribe. It was like an epiphany. I'm still close with many friends from this era (28 years ago), even as I've moved and expanded/changed my tribe. I haven't felt truly lonely since high school.

When you're young you're on fixed rails without a lot of control. The internet makes it possible to find people you really connect with, even if you don't see them in person all the time. Don't prejudge the level of connection.

The only friend from high school that I still keep in regular touch with is someone I met BBSing (ahh, the 80s).

Nowadays teenagers hanging out sit with their phones up their faces. Constantly texting/sending photos on Snapchat, instagram, fb, whatsapp and then picking up the phone every 2 minutes for any updates.

And we thought Generation Y was going to be difficult to manage...