"Americans' circle of close friends shrinking
Friday, June 23, 2006; Posted: 8:50 p.m. EDT (00:50 GMT)
More than 50 percent of people in a new survey named two or fewer confidants. HEALTH LIBRARY
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? 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.. . . "
full article:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/06/23/friends.health.reut/index.html
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