Americans' social activity has steeply declined in the past 30 years(dataforprogress.org)
561 points by hubraumhugo 1 day ago | 551 comments
tl;dr: A Data for Progress survey replicating 1995's DDB Needham Life Style questions found double-digit drops in Americans' participation in social activities over the past 30 years, including entertaining at home (-21), attending church (-20), club meetings (-19), and playing cards (-19). Internet use (+90) and video gaming (+22) saw the biggest increases. The authors caution that methodological differences between the two surveys mean results should be read as suggestive trends rather than precise estimates.
HN Discussion:
  • ↑Media, TV, internet and smartphones have replaced in-person socializing as entertainment
  • ↑Personal effort through meetups and hosting events can rebuild social connections
  • ↑Car-dependent infrastructure and lack of walkable third places isolates Americans
  • ↓The survey is outdated because many modern activities like gaming and internet are themselves social
  • ↑Economic costs (childcare, dining, parking) make socializing prohibitively expensive