It is a sad commentary of our times when our young must seek advice and counsel from ’Dear Abby’ instead of going to Mom and Dad.

In this remark, Abigail Van Buren (“Dear Abby”) points to a perceived breakdown in family communication: when children and teenagers turn to a syndicated advice column for guidance that once would have come from parents. The line is self-aware—Abby’s livelihood depended on readers’ letters—yet it frames her popularity as evidence of social strain rather than triumph. The “sad commentary” suggests that modern pressures, generational distance, or diminished parental availability have left young people without trusted, intimate counsel at home. The quote also highlights the cultural role of mass-media advice in the mid-to-late 20th century: a public, anonymous substitute for private moral and emotional instruction.