Americans are friendly but lonely

[NewCreation435]

Americans Are Friendly But Lonely
The majority of adults has anywhere between two and five close friends (62%), but one in five regularly or often feels lonely. Those who report the highest levels of loneliness are single, male, young and likely earning a lower income. Those who aren’t working, or those who are part of the growing proportion of Americans who work remotely or for themselves, are likely making fewer friends because a plurality of adults (42%) meets their friends on the job. Outside of their place of employment, American adults meet their closest friends through other friends (35%) and in their neighborhood (29)%.

The interactions Americans have with their neighbors (those who live within easy walking distance)—which happen either weekly (39%) or daily (28%)—are usually friendly but consist mostly of a brief greeting with very little interaction otherwise (37%). One in four (25%) has managed to become friends with one or two of their neighbors. Overall, celebrations are what bring together most American neighbors: one-quarter says they eat dinner together (24%), celebrate birthdays or holidays together (23%), and gather for neighborhood events (22%).

rest of the article here
https://www.barna.com/research/friends-loneliness/

Any thoughts or surprises?

 

[Andrew]

Americans Are Friendly But Lonely
The majority of adults has anywhere between two and five close friends (62%), but one in five regularly or often feels lonely. Those who report the highest levels of loneliness are single, male, young and likely earning a lower income. Those who aren’t working, or those who are part of the growing proportion of Americans who work remotely or for themselves, are likely making fewer friends because a plurality of adults (42%) meets their friends on the job. Outside of their place of employment, American adults meet their closest friends through other friends (35%) and in their neighborhood (29)%.

The interactions Americans have with their neighbors (those who live within easy walking distance)—which happen either weekly (39%) or daily (28%)—are usually friendly but consist mostly of a brief greeting with very little interaction otherwise (37%). One in four (25%) has managed to become friends with one or two of their neighbors. Overall, celebrations are what bring together most American neighbors: one-quarter says they eat dinner together (24%), celebrate birthdays or holidays together (23%), and gather for neighborhood events (22%).

rest of the article here
https://www.barna.com/research/friends-loneliness/

Any thoughts or surprises?

I have no close friends but I'm fine with that, since my lifestyle change I just don't hang out with people like I used to.

 

[MoreCoffee]

USA folk appear to obsess about other people approving of them "Am I a good person?" is often heard.

 

[Ruth]

I have no close friends but I'm fine with that, since my lifestyle change I just don't hang out with people like I used to.

I am the same but honestly I do wish I had a best friend. I'm so set in my ways at my age tho, don't know if I can tolerate anyone or if they can tolerate me...it would take work..:confused2:

 

[Albion]

USA folk appear to obsess about other people approving of them "Am I a good person?" is often heard.

Often heard? :smirk:

Probably about as often as "Tie me kangaroo down" is heard by Australia folk.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Often heard?

Indeed, very often. Even script writers have actors say it. Sometimes it's posed in this form "I am a good person! You think I am a good person?"

There's fear too, fear of "bad neighbourhoods" and "bad people" who "gather on street corners". It may be true that such happens, it may be that with so many guns in the hands of anxious people that fear is well placed. Second amendment supporters say "I have a gun for self protection" which is possibly true. It illustrates how deep and wide the fears are in USA culture.

 

[Andrew]

I am the same but honestly I do wish I had a best friend. I'm so set in my ways at my age tho, don't know if I can tolerate anyone or if they can tolerate me...it would take work..:confused2:

I've always been an introvert, I like people don't get me wrong lol and I enjoy company and often wish that I were more outgoing... but that's just not me, my parents and family are my best friends, my coworkers and people I deal with are my best friends to me... it's weird but since I don't specifically have a favorite I just consider them all to be really great friends
I am very close to my dad because we both hang out in our common area, the man cave, where he watches his old western shows and news and I do what I do and we just talk about whatever's on our minds.
I consider you all my best friends, truly, I feel bad when I debate but then again I debate with my dad too.
Plus Jesus is a great friend (not being cheesy it's true) I never feel alone because I constantly focus and think about him 24/7 and although I don't see him he still corrects me daily

 

[Andrew]

Indeed, very often. Even script writers have actors say it. Sometimes it's posed in this form "I am a good person! You think I am a good person?"

There's fear too, fear of "bad neighbourhoods" and "bad people" who "gather on street corners". It may be true that such happens, it may be that with so many guns in the hands of anxious people that fear is well placed. Second amendment supporters say "I have a gun for self protection" which is possibly true. It illustrates how deep and wide the fears are in USA culture.

Why the many quotations as if it's some kind of nonsense we American's just spew out of our mouths for dramatic effect?
Crime is not a laughing matter my friend.
I have had a gun pointed at my face, I have had a knife pointed at my gut, I have been threatened by decapitation, I have been robbed, I have been molested, I have heard shoot outs, I have had friends killed by gang members, I have had friends that became gang members and committed murders, I have family and friends that have had their cars stolen and hijacked.
Can you honestly say the same MC?

 

[MoreCoffee]

Why the many quotations as if it's some kind of nonsense we American's just spew out of our mouths for dramatic effect?
Crime is not a laughing matter my friend.
I have had a gun pointed at my face, I have had a knife pointed at my gut, I have been threatened by decapitation, I have been robbed, I have been molested, I have heard shoot outs, I have had friends killed by gang members, I have had friends that became gang members and committed murders, I have family and friends that have had their cars stolen and hijacked.
Can you honestly say the same MC?

I answered the question asked of me. It is USA culture that creates the fears because of the many guns in the hands of anxious people. Anxious people sometimes go insane and shoot. It likely contributes to the fear.

 

[Andrew]

I answered the question asked of me. It is USA culture that creates the fears because of the many guns in the hands of anxious people. Anxious people sometimes go insane and shoot. It likely contributes to the fear.

It's not a culture ((imo)) to cause anarchy and lawlessness in a well structured country. The reason people hold on to the right to arm themselves is the same right they use to lock their front doors or keep a safe.
A friend once told me that the reason we have 'safes' is to keep 'honest' people from taking things that don't belong to them... something to think about.

 

[tango]

Indeed, very often. Even script writers have actors say it. Sometimes it's posed in this form "I am a good person! You think I am a good person?"

Well, yes, because we all know script writers only ever have actors say things that everyone else always says, right?

There's fear too, fear of "bad neighbourhoods" and "bad people" who "gather on street corners". It may be true that such happens, it may be that with so many guns in the hands of anxious people that fear is well placed. Second amendment supporters say "I have a gun for self protection" which is possibly true. It illustrates how deep and wide the fears are in USA culture.

Meh, to me it makes me wonder if you really know anything about US culture. Concern about bad areas and bad people isn't a US-only phenomenon. Have you ever visited an area like a dingy side road in Brixton in London, or strayed into the red light district in Amsterdam, and found yourself feeling uneasy? Maybe you've been accosted by street beggars in Paris who become aggressive if you don't give them money. For what it's worth I felt safer in NYC with a hefty slug of cash in my pocket than I did in London.

Your comment about the second amendment is frankly comical. Carrying a tool to use in case of emergency isn't indicative of fear being deep and wide. You carry a spare tire in case you get a flat in your car, no? Are you desperately scared of getting a flat, or are you just prepared in case a problem arises? Using your reasoning it is irrational for me to carry a spare tire because I've driven tens of thousands of miles without getting a flat tire, so I obviously don't need it. If you go for a long walk in the woods and carry a first-aid kit, are you demonstrating the depth of your fear of the woods, or just being responsible enough to be able to handle a minor injury? I've probably walked thousands of miles in the woods over the years and have never had a tick attach but I still carry a tick removal kit. Precaution or paranoid? If you carry a firearm during a long walk in the woods it's not about being deathly afraid that there's a bear or a mountain lion behind every tree, it's a simple recognition of the fact that if you were to encounter such an animal and it proved aggressive you might need something more than a stick to protect yourself. If you carry a firearm in a more urban area it's equally not about assuming that every single person is out to get you or that muggers and rapists lurk around every corner, it's just about accepting the self-evident reality that sometimes bad people do bad things and it's better to be able to protect yourself than to hope you're still breathing by the time the police show up to do it for you.

Acting like people who carry guns are trigger-happy and twitchy is frankly silly. If that were the case much of the USA would be a bloodbath. Just one simple question - when did any "active shooter" in the US turn out to be a member of a body like the NRA? You can be sure the anti-gun elements of the media would be all over it if it ever proved to be the case.

I think the problem with people being friendly but lonely relates far more to the culture of using cars for transport even when things are very close by. You know, you go out of your house into your garage (which is probably attached to your house), get in your car, wave at the neigbors if you happen to see them, and go on out. In more urban areas where you're more likely to use public transport the general social etiquette of very crowded spaces tends to discourage people from talking much, and in high density urban areas you tend to get a lot more turnover of residents so you may not have the same neighbors this month that you had last month.

When I was still working full-time as a regular employee there was a lot of general office banter and light social interaction but even after working in the same place for many years I typically found that few if any of my coworkers would count as friends. Sure, I'd stop for a beer or two after work with them but of the hundreds if not thousands of people I worked with in some capacity I can think of maybe half a dozen who I'd invite to my house for dinner, and three who I have actually had at my house for dinner. The chatter at the coffee machine or the water dispenser is great but not much of a substitute for a close friendship.

tl;dr: not just a US issue.

 

[Lamb]

I don't hang out with a lot of people in real life and I'm far from lonely. I don't really think having a ton amount of friends takes away any loneliness factor for some people.

 

[Ruth]

I've always been an introvert, I like people don't get me wrong lol and I enjoy company and often wish that I were more outgoing... but that's just not me, my parents and family are my best friends, my coworkers and people I deal with are my best friends to me... it's weird but since I don't specifically have a favorite I just consider them all to be really great friends
I am very close to my dad because we both hang out in our common area, the man cave, where he watches his old western shows and news and I do what I do and we just talk about whatever's on our minds.
I consider you all my best friends, truly, I feel bad when I debate but then again I debate with my dad too.
Plus Jesus is a great friend (not being cheesy it's true) I never feel alone because I constantly focus and think about him 24/7 and although I don't see him he still corrects me daily

Glad you have family you are close to, too. Thank you for considering us your best friends!

 

[MoreCoffee]

It's not a culture ((imo)) to cause anarchy and lawlessness in a well structured country. The reason people hold on to the right to arm themselves is the same right they use to lock their front doors or keep a safe.
A friend once told me that the reason we have 'safes' is to keep 'honest' people from taking things that don't belong to them... something to think about.

Look North to Canada, people live is less fear there and have far fewer guns. Their crime rates are much lower too, especially gun related violent crimes. The USA has a mass shooting a week it seems, some kill none, recent shootings killed 11 Jews and later 12 non-Jews. The country has too many killings in schools and in the streets in businesses and in homes. It is not good to have these things happening, ask why it happens in the USA so much and in Canada so little by comparison.

USA people can be friendly, many are very good people, decent law abiding and generous. Some are different. A few shoot other people and having guns with which to shoot makes them scary. Maybe the loneliness stems from the culture in the USA. Individualism, right wing political capitalism, entrepreneurial people elevated to hero status - hard hitting news program anchors and the like are admired - and it is all so very lonely "at the top" people say. Maybe that's what is at work.

 

[Andrew]

Look North to Canada, people live is less fear there and have far fewer guns. Their crime rates are much lower too, especially gun related violent crimes. The USA has a mass shooting a week it seems, some kill none, recent shootings killed 11 Jews and later 12 non-Jews. The country has too many killings in schools and in the streets in businesses and in homes. It is not good to have these things happening, ask why it happens in the USA so much and in Canada so little by comparison.

USA people can be friendly, many are very good people, decent law abiding and generous. Some are different. A few shoot other people and having guns with which to shoot makes them scary. Maybe the loneliness stems from the culture in the USA. Individualism, right wing political capitalism, entrepreneurial people elevated to hero status - hard hitting news program anchors and the like are admired - and it is all so very lonely "at the top" people say. Maybe that's what is at work.

Canada also doesn't have gangs and cartel that influence such criminal behavior as the norm.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Canada also doesn't have gangs and cartel that influence such criminal behavior as the norm.

Canada is just so much better, right.

Canadians are so much nicer too.

:smirk:

 

[Andrew]

Canada is just so much better, right.

Canadians are so much nicer too.

:smirk:

They would have a high crime rate if the cartel was skipping across their border

 

[MoreCoffee]

They would have a high crime rate if the cartel was skipping across their border

The school shootings, the anti-jewish shooting that happened a couple of weeks ago, and the bar shooting in California all were done by USA people with no Mexicans implicated. You have a very distorted perception about who is involved in USA crimes.

 

[Andrew]

The school shootings, the anti-jewish shooting that happened a couple of weeks ago, and the bar shooting in California all were done by USA people with no Mexicans implicated. You have a very distorted perception about who is involved in USA crimes.

More evidence of why we need stricter background checks, sadly these people are granted weapons when they have clearly been raising flags as being mentally unfit.
Warfare is horrific and causes great psychological damage for many soldiers, Canada has been blessed to not suffer the conditions of war.
The underground economy of drug trade is no better, it's a blood bath and it's a battle with authority literally in the street corners.
You want to focus all criminal activity to the mass shootings only and I have no problem with that, but keeping the guns out of the wrong peoples hands depends on proper background checks... that means we need to have their background handy.

 

[MoreCoffee]

More evidence of why we need stricter background checks, sadly these people are granted weapons when they have clearly been raising flags as being mentally unfit.

Then vote for a political party that will give you more and better background checks. Heck! Vote for a political party that will give you gun laws that take guns out of the hands of people who are dangerous. Even better vote for a political party that will repeal the second amendment or alter it so that there is no "right to bear arms". No one involved in writing the second amendment envisaged people with rapid fire weapons. In their time a fire arm was a front loaded black powder and led ball weapon. It took a minute per round. Making a gun even less effective than a knife as a mass killing weapon. Get rid of all those "for protection" weapons. And remove the guns in the hands of crazy people and dangerous people.