June 24, 2006
Existentialism
Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says
The Number of People Who Say They Have No One to Confide In Has Risen
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 23, 2006; A03
Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States.A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two.
The comprehensive new study paints a sobering picture of an increasingly fragmented America, where intimate social ties -- once seen as an integral part of daily life and associated with a host of psychological and civic benefits -- are shrinking or nonexistent. In bad times, far more people appear to suffer alone.
"That image of people on roofs after Katrina resonates with me, because those people did not know someone with a car," said Lynn Smith-Lovin, a Duke University sociologist who helped conduct the study. "There really is less of a safety net of close friends and confidants."
If close social relationships support people in the same way that beams hold up buildings, more and more Americans appear to be dependent on a single beam.
Compared with 1985, nearly 50 percent more people in 2004 reported that their spouse is the only person they can confide in. But if people face trouble in that relationship, or if a spouse falls sick, that means these people have no one to turn to for help, Smith-Lovin said.
"We know these close ties are what people depend on in bad times," she said. "We're not saying people are completely isolated. They may have 600 friends on Facebook.com [a popular networking Web site] and e-mail 25 people a day, but they are not discussing matters that are personally important."
Relationships take time and I don't get the impression that anyone has any these days. What's your experience?
Posted by Melanie at June 24, 2006 10:48 AM | TrackBackWhy aren't people making friends anymore?
Because they already have tons of friends!
And they're all on TV!
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20021002-000017.html
"The human brain is hardwired to respond
to stimuli as it did in its ancestral
environment, where television and movies
didn't exist. Kanazawa says that we have
evolved to believe that "all realistic
images of people you encounter repeatedly
are friends and family. In the environment
of evolutionary adaptedness there was no
one-way acquaintance, as there is today
with celebrities."
"...there is nothing asocial about watching
television, or so the brain thinks. Watching
TV is our form of participating in civic
groups, because we don't truly know that
we are not participating."
Americans watch (on average) over 4 hours of TV a day.
That is about 2 hours a day for those working full time,
and 6 to 8 hours for retirees, the unemployed school children, etc...
It's hard to make time to socialize when so much
time is spent in front of the tube.
More on TV being the main cause of social
isolation:
http://www.prospect.org/print/V7/24/putnam-r.html
http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/depression.html
http://www.trashyourtv.com/node
http://www.whitedot.org
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com
Well I think that both TV and lack of time play into the isolation. We ditched our TV years ago and don't miss it, which seemed especially helpful for our kids (and now our grandkids when they come to visit). They learned to observe the actual world more closely, and acquired very active social skills as well, compared to their "blink-and-nod" TV-nurtured peers.
We all know that TV is the dominant order's conformity tool. But I'm also concerned that the reported overall increase in social isolation plays perfectly into the fear that is needed by a fascist, oops, I mean, Bushist regime to maintain control.
"But I'm also concerned that the reported
overall increase in social isolation plays
perfectly into the fear that is needed by
a fascist, oops, I mean, Bushist regime to
maintain control."
Exactly! I'm sure you've heard of the
mean world syndome:
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/girls/index.ssf?/special/oregonian/girls/072202_ed.html
And all the cop shows where the
hero is too independent to follow police
procedure, or do an actual investigation
and instead just beats up various street
people until he solves the crime.
The ultimate is "24" the pro-torture
show that has become so popular.
And of course the Sapranos give a more
sympathetic view of corruption (also very
important to the GOP).
