A new poll reveals Americans are dealing with a friendship crisis. The Survey Center on American Life asked more than 2-thousand U.S. adults about the state of their friendships and it seems that as we’re coming out of the pandemic, folks are more aware than ever about the importance of friendship. But they’re also seeing their social circles decline, with only 13% of those surveyed saying they have more than 10 close friends, down from 33% in a 1990 Gallup poll.
According to that same poll from three decades ago, 75% of respondents said they had a best friend. In this year’s survey?
- That number was down to 59%. The pandemic has also been hard on friendships, with nearly half of people reporting they’ve lost touch with at least a few friends during the last 12 months and 10% saying they lost touch with most of their friends.
- In addition to the toll the global health crisis had on friendships, politics was also a big reason for friendships ending, with 20% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans admitting they’ve ended a friendship over a political disagreement.
But on the upside? About half the people surveyed say they’ve made at least one new friend during the past year.
- Work is the most common place people have made friends, as 54% of those polled say they met a close friend at their workplace or their spouses.
- Around one in three (35%) have found a close friend in their neighborhood, 19% made a close friend at a club or group they belong to and 16% of those with kids at home developed a close friendship through their kid’s school.
Source: Insider