Give me some advice?

One of my default sad places: under the covers, only light from laptop tipped on its side and scrolling through advice column archives. Advice on almost anything personal or emotional, from failing marriages to tricky step-families, has become my balm. Often I don't face the particular problem myself. Part of why I read them is out of curiosity. Getting details of people's lives that are much easier to reveal under the label of Anonymous or S, aged 16. A quick peek of what they're willing to write down confirms that other people have messes too. This isn't support of schadenfreude. I hope everyone who comes across them treats them with sympathy rather than superiority. Or feels the quick spread of relief from being able to think 'me too.' Or remembers the self that was in the same position and gives their own tips and support. 

Not all the advice giving places I check into on the internet have qualified experts. Often the responses, typed out paragraphs or a few quick sentences, come from people who are kind enough to lend an ear and have reflected on their own experiences. Obviously, the internet, being what it is, is full of terrible advice, and there are problems that can't escape professionals. But sometimes sticky situations aren't mammoth beasts and just need a friendly face to tame and shrink them.

The main reason I like reading these questions are the answers that come along with them. A quick pick me up from the 'Dear Auntie,' maybe a ticking off and then a plan of action. Advice columns give me hope that every problem has a solution. It's so much easier to read through seemingly straightforward steps than to live them. Often they are relentless hopeful to counteract the despair of the asker. They seem like recalibration. They make me feel that I too can go out there and try again. 

Also, during moments of just clicking around the internet out of a low level boredom, advice columns can be fun. Like reading through requests for nicety procedure on Social Q's and seeing if I can guess the correct response. I'm obviously not the only one who enjoys reading advice. Most newspapers carry a column, or even several. It's just easier, like almost everything, to find them now thanks to the world wide web. I hope that I live a life where I've risked and endured enough to actually give advice.