Netphoria Message Board

Netphoria Message Board (http://forums.netphoria.org/index.php)
-   General Chat Archive (http://forums.netphoria.org/forumdisplay.php?f=19)
-   -   Americans' circle of close friends shrinking (http://forums.netphoria.org/showthread.php?t=121797)

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 10:30 PM

Americans' circle of close friends shrinking
 
I found this article interesting. I always wondered why my dad didn't go hang out with friends at the bar like every other TV family dad.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/06/23...eut/index.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.

Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had "zero" close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.

"This is a 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 most commonly said they had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.

They were almost as likely to name four or five friends, and the relationships often sprang from their neighborhoods or communities.

Ties to a close network of friends create a social safety net that is good for society, and for the individual. Research has linked social support and civic participation to a longer life, Smith-Lovin said.

People were not asked why they had fewer intimate ties, but Smith-Lovin said that part of the cause could be that Americans are working more, marrying later, having fewer children, and commuting longer distances.

The data also show the social isolation trend mirrors other class divides: Non-whites and people with less education tend to have smaller social networks than white Americans and the highly educated.

That means that in daily life, personal emergencies and national disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, those with the fewest resources also have the fewest personal friends to call for advice and assistance.

"It's one thing to know someone and exchange e-mails with them. It's another thing to say, 'Will you give me a ride out of town with all of my possessions and pets? And can I stay with you for a couple or three months?" Smith-Lovin said.

"Worrying about social isolation is not a matter of nostalgia for a warm and cuddly past. Real things are strongly connected with that," added Harvard University Public Policy Professor Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone," a book on the decline of American community.

He suggested flexible work schedules would allow Americans to tend both personal and professional lives.

Sammiches 06-23-2006 10:41 PM

See guys. You're not so different afterall. Unless you are white.

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 10:59 PM

wrong board

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PkPhuoko
wrong board

the quickest of glances at the article would prove you wrong

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 11:02 PM

no i meant wrong board as in no one on the entire netphorian forums gives a shit

i'd recommend a board where faggotry was accepted

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PkPhuoko
no i meant wrong board as in no one on the entire netphorian forums gives a shit

i'd recommend a board where faggotry was accepted

suuuuuuuuuuure ;)

billex doux 06-23-2006 11:04 PM

hm, i can definitely relate to most friendless americans then.

even america- meaning the united states as a whole- is quite friendless at the moment. i cant think of one country that likes us besides japan. i dont even know if they like us though.

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 11:05 PM

see ^ if Billex can relate to the subject it's a subject of faggotry

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:06 PM

billex do you put you dick in guys asses?

billex doux 06-23-2006 11:07 PM

nope.

DENIED.

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 11:08 PM

If you had a penis would you?

billex doux 06-23-2006 11:11 PM

maybe with a girl.

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 11:14 PM

what if you had to do a blind taste test?

jczeroman 06-23-2006 11:18 PM

we need to solve this like we have every other crisis - "War for friends". The government, of course, could just mandate that everyone have at least three close friends! Those that don't can go to government socialization classes. Those who have more than 5 close friends can get a "national friendship initiative" tax credit. How great would that be for America!!!!

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jczeroman
we need to solve this like we have every other crisis - "War for friends". The government, of course, could just mandate that everyone have at least three close friends! Those that don't can go to government socialization classes. Those who have more than 5 close friends can get a "national friendship initiative" tax credit. How great would that be for America!!!!

lol, true libertarian pwnage

wally 06-23-2006 11:20 PM

I'll be your friend if you promise not to shoot me.

billex doux 06-23-2006 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PkPhuoko
what if you had to do a blind taste test?

what am i tasting?

or is that the point.

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:21 PM

billex and clint take your sodomic ramblings to another thread

edit: actually the billex stuff is kind of a hot countermelody to this otherwise serious thread

billex doux 06-23-2006 11:23 PM

hey. you were the one who asked if i put my penis in other men's butts.

dont make me post the facts.

edit: thanks for the compliment, however.

Orenthal James 06-23-2006 11:31 PM

i have a rather large group of people whom i would close friends. but i lack the ability to sustain any meaningful romantic relationships with a member of the opposite sex.

PkPhuoko 06-23-2006 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TuralyonW3
billex and clint take your sodomic ramblings to another thread

edit: actually the billex stuff is kind of a hot countermelody to this otherwise serious thread


you realise she can't even drive yet correct?

TuralyonW3 06-23-2006 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PkPhuoko
you realise she can't even drive yet correct?

ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:23 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

Smashing Pumpkins, Alternative Music
& General Discussion Message Board and Forums
www.netphoria.org - Copyright © 1998-2022