From Project BFF HQ, Terri + Manya riff on the concept of a friendship recession--the "slow then sudden creep of people self-reporting that they have no close friends."
We learned that 15% of American men and 10% of women reported having no friends.
We talk about the factors that have led to the decline, as discussed by Kimberley Wilson, including increase in people moving to search for work or the challenges of a dicey urban rental market and the increased cost of living.
There are factors outside of our control, of course. But there are things we can control when it comes to friendships, like re-galvanizing old friendships, investing time to build new ones, and remembering that making friends takes time.
Resources:
Are You Experiencing a Friendship Recession? by Claudia Canavanin Women's Health Magazine
American Men Suffer a Friendship Recession, by Daniel A. Cox, Survey Center of American Life
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review, in PLOS Medicine
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