Concern about a social decline in the United States has grown in recent years, including a 2023 U.S. surgeon general advisory that described American loneliness as an "epidemic." Public tracking data already show that Americans spend more time alone and less time with friends than they did two decades ago. The American Perspectives Survey found that the share of Americans with five or more close friends fell from 63% in 1990 to 38% in 2021.
What has been less clear is how everyday social habits have changed. A new Data for Progress survey of 1,098 U.S. adults asked respondents how often they took part in specific social activities over the past 12 months. The questions replicate the DDB Needham Life Style surveys, which were referenced in Robert Putnam's 2000 book "Bowling Alone." The results were compared with the 1995 DDB Needham data, the earliest year with full comparable data. The analysis finds double-digit declines in key activities between 1995 and 2026, including attending a class or seminar (-22 points), entertaining people at home (-21), attending church or a place of worship (-20), going on a picnic (-19), and attending club meetings (-19).
The steepest drop was in hosting guests at home. In 1995, 88% of Americans said they had entertained people in their homes at least once in the past year; by 2026, that figure had fallen to 67%. Club meeting attendance dropped from 45% to 26%. Declines also appeared in going out to breakfast at a restaurant (-13) and doing volunteer work (-12). A few activities grew, including using the internet (+90), playing a home video game (+22), attending an exercise class (+14), and attending a pop or rock concert (+13).
The researchers caution that the two surveys used different methods. The 1995 study relied on mail and a sampling frame from commercial list brokers, while the 2026 study used web panels with quota fielding and post-stratification weighting. The findings should therefore be read as suggestive of trends rather than precise measurements of change. Even so, they add to existing evidence that Americans are spending less time in many shared social settings, from restaurants and churches to parties and social clubs.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing