Agony columns offer advice for personal problems and can be found in newspapers and on the internet. They provide anonymous advice without judgment and cover a range of topics, including sexuality, family dynamics, and finances. The author may be a composite or a single high-profile columnist. Many people enjoy reading agony columns for insight into other people’s lives and helpful advice.
An agony column is a type of newspaper column that offers advice for personal problems. The author of such a column is often called Aunt Agony or Uncle Agony, conjuring up an image of a knowledgeable and friendly figure who will offer sound and helpful advice, and in some cases the author may actually be an accredited professional in a field such as medicine or psychology. Many newspapers carry agony columns, which can be generated in-house or purchased from national unions. The agony columns can also be found on Internet sites; in some cases, even general site visitors are welcome to submit suggestions.
The concept of an anonymous advice column in a newspaper is relatively old. People have been seeking answers and advice to problems for thousands of years, and anonymous columns offer the distinct advantage of providing advice without judgment. A perpetrator may also hide their identity so that people in the perpetrator’s life don’t realize they are the subject of an agony column.
Many agony columns focus on the issue of sexuality, and columnists often point out that they get the same questions from readers over and over again. Others look into issues of family dynamics, ethics, and manners. Some agony columns also focus on investments, financial matters, real estate, and similar problems people may encounter. An agony column can also sometimes include personal ads, and love advice columns are often found in the personals section of a newspaper.
Some people are surprised to learn that the author of an agony column is often a composite. Many newspapers keep several people on staff to answer questions, with a single fictitious aunt or uncle name being used for the byline. Some high-profile columnists write all of their own material, although they may retain staff members to respond to letters that go unpublished. In some cases, the original columnist has retired or died, and another author takes over, but keeps the columnist’s name on the columns, as people have come to love and trust the older author.
Many people enjoy reading the agony column in their local paper as it provides an interesting window into other people’s lives. Such columns may also offer generally helpful advice that might be applicable to a reader’s life. All kinds of people write to agony columns, and in some cases an agony column even includes a message hotline that readers can call if they want to tape their questions for radio or podcast columns.
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