No, There Isn’t a Loneliness Epidemic (And That May Be an Even Bigger Problem)

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Face-to-face socializing in America has declined by more than 20% nationwide. Among some groups, like young adults and unmarried men, the drop is closer to 40%. But strangely, this hasn’t led to the loneliness epidemic that you hear so much about. Instead, we’re seeing a new phenomenon: rising aloneness without rising loneliness. Today on the show, Derek Thompson will help us understand this puzzling disconnect and its profound implications. Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic who recently wrote a piece entitled “The Anti-Social Century.” In the first half of our conversation, Derek unpacks the cultural shifts and technological developments — and no, it’s not just the smartphone — that have created what he calls the “convenience curse.” We then get into why even self-described introverts are often happier when forced to socialize, the concerning trend of young men settling further and further into isolating, sedentary leisure, and practical ways we can strengthen our atrophied social muscles to become better, happier people.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.7	Face-to-face socializing in America has declined by more than 20% nationwide.
0:16.2	Among some groups, like young adults and unmarried men, the drop is closer to 40%.
0:20.7	But strangely, this hasn is closer to 40%.
0:21.3	But strangely, this hasn't led to the loneliness epidemic that you hear so much about.
0:26.0	Instead, we're seeing a new phenomenon, rising aloneness without rising loneliness.
0:31.5	Today on the show, Derek Thompson will help us understand this puzzling disconnect and its profound implications.
0:37.0	Derek is a staff writer at The Atlantic who recently wrote a piece entitled The Anti-Social Century.
0:41.9	In the first half of our conversation, Derek impacts the cultural shifts in technological developments,
0:46.7	and no, it's not just the smartphone, that have created what he calls the convenience curse.
0:51.4	We then get into why even self-described introverts are often happier when forced
0:54.6	to socialize, the concerning trend of young men settling further and further into isolating
0:58.9	sedentary leisure, and practical ways we can strengthen our atrophy social muscles to become
1:03.3	better, happier people.
1:05.3	After the show's over, check out our show notes at a.im.is slash alone.
1:24.2	All right.
1:24.9	Derek Thompson.
1:25.6	Welcome to show.
1:26.8	Great to be here.
1:27.5	Thank you so much.
1:33.0	So you recently wrote a piece for the Atlantic called the anti-social century, which traces how much less time Americans are spending socializing than they used to.
1:38.6	What are some of the numbers on this front?
	...

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