More people have fewer people to talk to.

That’s the upshot of a new study by Duke University and the University of Arizona professors in their follow-up on a study conducted in 1985.

Twenty years ago, Americans reported that they had three close friends; today it’s two.  The number of people who report having no one to talk to intimately nearly tripled, to 25 percent of the U.S. population.

The few remaining confidants tend to be members of the individual’s nuclear family, decreasing the amount of meaningful interactions between classes but – good news – racial heterogeneity has increased.  Even though more people have fewer confidants outside the immediate family, it is more likely that a confidant will be of a different race than it was 20 years ago.

On all other fronts, the report, “Social Isolation in America,” reflects a relatively swift decline in the interconnectedness of American society.

Published in the current issue of the American Sociology Review, the study reported, “We find a remarkable drop in the size of core discussion networks, with a shift away from ties formed in neighborhood and community contexts and toward conversations with close kin (especially spouses).”

The most dramatic decrease was in the number of people who have close interpersonal relationships with at least one person outside their family (a decline from 80.1 to 57.2 percent).

These are the relationships which bridge gaps among and between communities and create the strong foundation a successful democratic society demands.

Friendships outside the family create support in times of crisis (think Katrina); constitute block-watch organizations; see to it that volunteers are active in not-for-profits and charities; raise voting participation rates and all kinds of other neighborly or civic-oriented things to be and do.

What is the reason for this disconnect?

Study co-author Lynn Amirh-Lovin mentioned several possible reasons for friendship’s decline to Knight Ridder Newspapers.  Both men and women are working longer; commutes are longer and TV viewing and computer use are up, she said.

“From a social point of view it means you’ve got more people isolated in a small network of people who are just like them,” she said.

There is a rich tradition in America, dating back to at least de Tocqueville, “in heightened interest in networks by emphasizing links among personal ties, voluntary association membership, community well-being and civic participation,” the report states.

It references other studies which demonstrate the importance of networks and social relationships “in virtually every important arena of life, from cultural tastes to health, to crime.”

What can be done?

We fall back on the old adage, you have to give to get and, we assume, that goes for friends too. Certainly, here at Ohio State, it should be easy enough to make new friends.  New friends can turn into to close friends.

Another co-author, Miller McPherson, via e-mail said, “The study shows that people with more education are not as isolated. College-educated people are much less likely to be isolated.”

Put down the mouse or remote, get off the sofa and volunteer, put up, and reach out. 

Whatever you do, do not become a social isolation statistic. Do not become one of the 25 percent of Americans who have no one in which to confide.

According to Marc Mobley of Project Community AmeriCorps*VISTA, you will have a lot of OSU company when giving of your time.

“I feel that the state of volunteering at OSU is in a great position.  There is so much support coming from the university as a whole.Whether it be student participation, administrative backing, or community participation, I feel that the university is living up to its motto of education for citizenship,” he said.

The paybacks are friends, close friends.