EP 486 American Men Having a Hard Time Making Friends

It’s not just as a result of the pandemic that men are having a difficult time engaging with other guys in a bond of friendship.  This trend has been going on for a while and is likely exacerbated by the fact that many friendships are formed in the workplace, which is now undergoing great change.  Single men, who it may seem have more time on their hands to engage with friends, are the loneliest of all.  Women are much better at taking the time and developing the emotional bond with other women and often, in a married situation, they keep the connections in place for the men, too.  This friendship recession is a trend worth exploring because social isolation is toxic and a growing problem in our culture.  We do not join organizations and associations as we did in the past.  We don’t go to places of worship, either.  These were both breeding grounds for friendships.  We look at the impact on our society with Daniel Cox, the founder and director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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