It would be interesting to see how this fits into the whole "being alone together" argument within a technology context....for example, someone who doesn't want to be around people but who socializes happily in a MMORPG environment or spends hours upon hours on AIM or IRC. Interesting ponderage for a Friday afternoon.... -rick Infowarrior.org Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says The Number of People Who Say They Have No One to Confide In Has Risen By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 23, 2006; A03 Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States. A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two. The comprehensive new study paints a sobering picture of an increasingly fragmented America, where intimate social ties -- once seen as an integral part of daily life and associated with a host of psychological and civic benefits -- are shrinking or nonexistent. In bad times, far more people appear to suffer alone. < - > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201 763_pf.html
interesting study....sort of. I doubt it even mentions online social relationships or concurrent online/rl relationships. It almost sounds to me to be from some pro-nuclear family agenda (he golden days in the 50's hen we had the Murphy's over to play cards and we actually talked). For instanced how many of you would i be contacting in the 80's? I feel more connected than ever to people. But then I'm a nerd =) Anyone have a copy of the real study? On 6/23/06, Richard Forno <rforno@infowarrior.org> wrote:
It would be interesting to see how this fits into the whole "being alone together" argument within a technology context....for example, someone who doesn't want to be around people but who socializes happily in a MMORPG environment or spends hours upon hours on AIM or IRC.
Interesting ponderage for a Friday afternoon....
-rick Infowarrior.org
Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says The Number of People Who Say They Have No One to Confide In Has Risen
By Shankar Vedantam Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 23, 2006; A03
Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States.
A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two.
The comprehensive new study paints a sobering picture of an increasingly fragmented America, where intimate social ties -- once seen as an integral part of daily life and associated with a host of psychological and civic benefits -- are shrinking or nonexistent. In bad times, far more people appear to suffer alone.
< - >
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/22/AR2006062201 763_pf.html
_______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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-- Mark Bell http://www.storygeek.com "The future is here...it's just not widely distributed." - Tim O'Reilly
The article is being published in the new American Sociological Review. Both JSTOR and IngentaConnect carry ASR. I'm fairly convinced that the internet is a response to a felt need for connection that has been lacking since the 1970s "get an education and leave home to get a job far away from anyone and everything you've ever known" commuter mentality that I hope has reached its apex. The internet, in my mind, is a way to reconnect, after years of many of us not even knowing our neighbors' names. :-D. Deanya On Friday, June 23, 2006, at 10:11 PM, Mark Bell wrote:
interesting study....sort of. I doubt it even mentions online social relationships or concurrent online/rl relationships. It almost sounds to me to be from some pro-nuclear family agenda (he golden days in the 50's hen we had the Murphy's over to play cards and we actually talked). For instanced how many of you would i be contacting in the 80's? I feel more connected than ever to people. But then I'm a nerd =)
Anyone have a copy of the real study?
On 6/23/06, Richard Forno <rforno@infowarrior.org> wrote:
It would be interesting to see how this fits into the whole "being alone together" argument within a technology context....for example, someone who doesn't want to be around people but who socializes happily in a MMORPG environment or spends hours upon hours on AIM or IRC.
I agree Deanya, My own work suggests that sociability and connection are the main reasons for people living in virtual communities. Denise Dr Denise Maia Carter, Research Fellow, Cyberspace Research Unit University of Central Lancashire Maudland Building Preston, PR1 2HE www.uclan.ac.uk/cru www.denisecarter.net -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org]On Behalf Of Deanya Lattimore Sent: 24 June 2006 05:05 To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] Americans and social isolation The article is being published in the new American Sociological Review. Both JSTOR and IngentaConnect carry ASR. I'm fairly convinced that the internet is a response to a felt need for connection that has been lacking since the 1970s "get an education and leave home to get a job far away from anyone and everything you've ever known" commuter mentality that I hope has reached its apex. The internet, in my mind, is a way to reconnect, after years of many of us not even knowing our neighbors' names. :-D. Deanya On Friday, June 23, 2006, at 10:11 PM, Mark Bell wrote:
interesting study....sort of. I doubt it even mentions online social relationships or concurrent online/rl relationships. It almost sounds to me to be from some pro-nuclear family agenda (he golden days in the 50's hen we had the Murphy's over to play cards and we actually talked). For instanced how many of you would i be contacting in the 80's? I feel more connected than ever to people. But then I'm a nerd =)
Anyone have a copy of the real study?
On 6/23/06, Richard Forno <rforno@infowarrior.org> wrote:
It would be interesting to see how this fits into the whole "being alone together" argument within a technology context....for example, someone who doesn't want to be around people but who socializes happily in a MMORPG environment or spends hours upon hours on AIM or IRC.
_______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
Mark Bell wrote:
interesting study....sort of. I doubt it even mentions online social relationships or concurrent online/rl relationships. It almost sounds to me to be from some pro-nuclear family agenda (he golden days in the 50's hen we had the Murphy's over to play cards and we actually talked). For instanced how many of you would i be contacting in the 80's? I feel more connected than ever to people. But then I'm a nerd =)
Anyone have a copy of the real study?
There is a link on the Washington Post website to the ASR article. - Frank Thomas -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.5/376 - Release Date: 26/06/2006
participants (5)
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Deanya Lattimore -
Denise M Carter -
Frank Thomas -
Mark Bell -
Richard Forno