By Jill Filipovic, Photo: Hinterhaus Productions/Getty Images, The Guardian, December 29, 2022
Here is a much-needed resolution for many of us in the new year: make new friendships and shore up old ones.
Americans are an increasingly lonely bunch, spending more time solo and on our devices than with others. A decade ago, the average American spent about six and a half hours a week with friends. In 2014, time with friends declined, while time alone shot up. By 2019 – before the pandemic – Americans were spending just four hours a week with friends, a number that tanked in 2021 to two hours and 45 minutes. And it’s not that those hours were going to other people – to kids, spouses or family. As time with friends decreased, time spent alone soared.
As an introvert who treasures my alone time, I understand the impulse to carve out a little bit of personal quiet. But the average American isn’t spending a few hours a week recharging; we’re increasingly isolated, connecting through our phones, laptops and tablets rather than doing the harder but much more meaningful work of in-person interaction.
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