More than one in four (27 percent) women say the past 12 months have been much more difficult than usual, compared to 17 percent of men. Women report having had a more challenging time than men did.

About only one in three (32 percent) Americans say the past 12 months were not especially difficult for them-at least no more than usual. Nearly half (46 percent) say it was somewhat more difficult. More than one in five (22 percent) Americans say the past 12 months have been much more difficult for them than usual. Most Americans report having faced significant personal challenges over the past 12 months. Many Americans report having activity friendships or situational friends-people they see at certain times or places-and most Americans have a best friend, even if it’s fewer than in the past. But, surprisingly, nearly as many Americans report having made a new friend over this same period. Roughly half of Americans report having lost touch with at least one friend during the pandemic. The survey paints a more complex and perhaps more fluid picture of American friendships. In fact, perhaps reflecting its central place in the hierarchy of American social life, Americans are now more likely to make friends at work than any other way-including at school, in their neighborhood, at their place of worship, or even through existing friends.īut the news is not universally negative. Finally, Americans are working longer hours and traveling more for work, which may come at the cost of maintaining and developing friendships. Second, American parents are spending twice as much time with their children compared to previous generations, crowding out other types of relationships, including friendships.

First, Americans are marrying later than ever and are more geographically mobile than in the past-two trends that are strongly associated with increasing rates of self-reported social isolation and feelings of loneliness. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most obvious culprit in the national friendship decline, but broader structural forces may be playing a more important role. The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support. However, despite renewed interest in the topic of friendship in popular culture and the news media, signs suggest that the role of friends in American social life is experiencing a pronounced decline. Coming out of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, Americans appear more attuned than ever to the importance of friendship.

Men dont get touched