HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
We used to go to dinner, but now we order through apps like DoorDash. We used to go to the stores, but now we buy online. We used to work in offices, but now we work from home. We used to meet potential dating partners at social events, but now we swipe right on dating apps. We used to have client meetings at offices, but now we meet virtually over Zoom. We used to attend conferences, but now we watch them online. The list goes on and on. As a result, we have significantly fewer faceto-face interactions.
FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS HAVE FALLEN DRAMATICALLY
Americans today spend far less time interacting face-to-face than 30 years ago. Time-use surveys reveal a steep drop in in-person social time. For example, weekly hours spent with friends plummeted from about 6.5 hours per week a decade or two ago to only 2 hours and 45 minutes per week by 2021. This represents well over a 50 % decline in friend interactions. American adults in the early 2020s spend roughly 30 % less time on face-to-face socializing than they did 20 years earlier. The change is even more dramatic for young people: teenagers’ in-person social time fell by almost 50 % in the same period. One national analysis found that daily socializing with friends dropped from about 60 minutes per day in 2003 to just 20 minutes per day in 2020. Consistently, the average American now spends more time alone— about 5.5 hours alone per day, up from 4.75 hours in 2003. In short, face-to-face interactions have steadily declined in frequency and duration since the 1990s.
LONG-TERM TRENDS IN SOCIAL CONNECTION AND TRUST
The General Social Survey shows the share of Americans frequently socializing with neighbors fell from 44 % in the 1970s to 28 % by 2022, while over the same period, 46 % of Americans said that others could be trusted, whereas only 26 % of Americans say the same today.
SHRINKING SOCIAL CIRCLES AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Not only are people spending less time in person, but they also report having fewer close social connections than in past decades. National surveys show that Americans’ social circles have shrunk: the number of close friends has declined, and more people report having no one to confide in.
The proportion of Americans with three or fewer close friends nearly doubled from 27 % in 1990 to 49 % in 2021
. Earlier research noted that the share of Americans with zero confidants( no close person to discuss important matters with) tripled between 1985 and 2004. This indicates rising social isolation— many people have fewer face-to-face relationships in which to engage.
The explosion of digital technology over the past 15 – 20 years has profoundly impacted face-to-face interaction. Smartphones, social media, and texting now allow people to connect without being physically together, and evidence suggests this often displaces some in-person communication. Especially since the early 2010s, the smartphone adoption timeline coincides with sharper declines in face-to-face socializing. The number of adolescents who go out with friends frequently slowly declined in the 1990s and 2000s, but after 2012, it“ fell off a cliff,” according to analysts. By the late 2010s, teens were spending far more time online and correspondingly 45 % less time with friends in person compared to the early 2000s.
SpectrumInsGroup. com • 19