In recent years, more Canadians are saying they have a maximum of two friends no more than two. Can it be true that working longer hours and moving more often are taking a toll on our shrinking friendship networks? \”Ah, look at all the lonely people,\” sang the Beatles \”Eleanor Rigby\”. In recent years, more Canadians are saying they have a maximum of two friends-no more than two. And people of all age groups, with the exception of women under 25, are saying this. Filed under: Daryl Katz, Edmonton Alberta. Can it be true that working longer hours and moving more often are taking a toll on our shrinking friendship networks? \”The intensity and the number of face-to-face interactions is decreasing,\” says James White, as the pace of life accelerates.
The professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia continues by saying that people work longer and harder to maintain the same standard of living, while technology acts as a \”buffer\” that insulates US from connecting with others. During a recent short-haul flight, white recounts cease not even speak to their seatmates. On their cell phones turn but as soon as the plane landed and everyone could, the cabin erupted into a cacophony of one-sided conversations. In Canada’s largest urban centres, only one third of the population say they know any of their neighbours, and only about half say that they generally trust people. In 2006, Duke University and the University of Arizona, ran a study that found the number of people who have no one with whom they can have a heart-to-heart conversation nearly doubled from 1985, to 25 per cent of the population. Meanwhile, the study found people same are nurturing closer relationships with their immediate families, even as their other support networks are shrinking. Because they move around more, \”A lot of people depend on their families,\” says white. \”You may change places, you may loose friends every two years or three years, but you can usually count on your family.
