American Storylines

American Storylines

America's "Friendship Recession" Is Weakening Civic Life

Community life suffers when we don’t prioritize friendship

Daniel Cox's avatar
Daniel Cox
Aug 24, 2023
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If you’ve read anything about America’s “Friendship Recession,” chances are that it cites a 2021 survey we conducted. It was one of the first major studies solely dedicated to the topic of friendship in years, and the results were jaw-dropping—Americans reported a massive drop in the number of close friends, with men experiencing the steepest decline. 

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