> it's definitely not "most"
EDIT: Correct.
About a fifth of Americans report having zero friends; another fifth report feeling lonely sometimes [1].
[1] https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/us-loneliness-statistics...
EDIT: Correct.
About a fifth of Americans report having zero friends; another fifth report feeling lonely sometimes [1].
[1] https://www.theglobalstatistics.com/us-loneliness-statistics...
Yes. Edited for clarity.
The only American demo that is majority lonely is Gen Z (two thirds).
Wow, that's depressing...
There are certainly different degrees of friendship. I might only have one such platonic partner and unfortunately we hardly see each other anymore because we live in different cities and have families. Once in a while we talk on the phone, but when we do it's a minimum 2 hour call.
However, I have several people I would still consider close friends. My personal threshold for true friendship is whether I can comfortably talk about private things.
Back to the study. I don't think it uses such a high threshold as 'platonic partnership'. I found the following paragraph really striking:
"What these numbers also reveal is the hidden depth of the crisis. The 17% with zero friends in 2024 — compared to just 1% in 1990"
Do everybody suddenly get higher standards of friendship? Or did people really get lonelier? I find the second more likely.
> you're highly unlikely to make friends once you're an adult
People keep saying this but that's not my experience. First, it depends on how you define adult. I have only one close friend from my school days, but I met most of my best friends at university and I don't think I'm an outlier in this regard. It probably gets harder once you're in your thirties and start a family. But once the kids get older and you have more time for hobbies again, there are still many opportunities to find friends. Maybe it won't be a deep platonic relationship, but at least it's someone who shares your interests and that you can meet and talk to in real life.