Close Friends? What's that?
Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported recently.
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said thay had 'zero' close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. "More than 50 per cent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members," the researchers said.
"This is s big social change, and it indicates something that's not good for our society," said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review.
Smith-Lovin's group used data from a national survey of 1,500 American adults that has been ongoing since 1972.
She said it indicated people had a surprising drop in the number of close friends since 1985. At that time, Americans are most commonly said thay had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said thay had 'zero' close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. "More than 50 per cent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members," the researchers said.
"This is s big social change, and it indicates something that's not good for our society," said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review.
Smith-Lovin's group used data from a national survey of 1,500 American adults that has been ongoing since 1972.
She said it indicated people had a surprising drop in the number of close friends since 1985. At that time, Americans are most commonly said thay had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.
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