the lonelier American

Socialists have recently estimated that Americans have less friends than ever. In Time Magazine, Robert Putnam discusses the issue in piece titled,“You Gotta Have Friends”:

Social isolation has many well-documented side effects. Kids fail to thrive. Crime rises. Politics coarsens. Generosity shrivels. Death comes sooner (social isolation is as big a risk factor for premature death as smoking). Well-connected people live longer, happier lives, even if they have to forgo a new Lexus to spend time with friends.

And Henry Fountain in the NYtimes writes “The Lonely American Just Got a Bit Lonelier”:

More people are working and commuting longer hours and have little time for the kinds of external social activities that could lead to deeper relationships...

"Sure, you might say, we've still got our wives or husbands or mothers," he said. "That's true. But gosh, the number of friends you have is a strong predictor of how long you live."

What struck me about both articles was the emphasis on how having friends prolongs life. Here they are delving into the decline of meaningful friendships among Americans and how it reduces the quality of life, one of the underlying messages they leave the reader with is that friends are important because they make one live longer?! Umm...Seems like living longer would be an odd concern for the lonely person…