Are Close Friendships Getting Harder to Find?

A new study finds more Americans than ever admitting to a decrease in their social circle, with many saying they have no one to tell their troubles to. The data also showed that friendships outside of the family are decreasing more than familial friendships, showing Americans' friendships as "a densely connected, close, homogeneous set of ties slowly closing in on itself, becoming smaller, more tightly interconnected, more focused on the very strong bonds of the nuclear family," the authors noted.

"The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants, and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be," study author Lynn Smith-Lovin, a professor of sociology at Duke, said in a prepared statement.

Considering this sociological trend, what is the likely outcome of shrinking social networks? What does it mean for those individuals who have few natural, family supports? It seems the natural progression due to this shift is a personal increase in social isolation resulting in increased feelings of detachment and depression. Many factors could be affecting this sociological shift; what we do as individuals to take care of ourselves as a result of it is the key.

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