The great paradox of the communications age is that we are more connected and yet lonelier than ever. (No, ChatGPT, Netflix, or @SexyKitten84 don’t count as “friends.”)
The share of Americans with no close friends has quadrupled since 1990, reaching 12 percent, according to a survey conducted shortly after the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of people who reported having ten or more good friends has dropped to a third of what it was 20 years ago. To blame this trend on a single cause would be simplistic, but there’s a common thread that connects these warning signs of a social crisis: progressive ideas.
Comments