[lbo-talk] Americans' circle of close friends shrinking

[Andy F]

On 6/24/06, Ira Glazer <ira at yanua.com> wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/etc5l
>
> By Amanda Beck
>
> 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.

....


> 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.

Does any body else find this surprising?  I would think that
wealthier, more educated people would be more geographically mobile
and have a hard time seeing old friends regularly.  I guess there's
email and frequent flyer miles, but that's not the same as being in
the same city.

Or are they saying that the difference here is just in quantity, not quality?

Please, no assaults on imagined romanticizations of po' folk.

-- 
Andy