Feeling Connected to Family and Friends

Despite all the partisan rancor and loneliness struggles, Americans say they feel connected to family and friends. I wrote about this in my latest for the American Communities Project.

“On the specific question of socializing with friends face-to-face, 43% nationally said they spend time with friends in person at least weekly. But the differences on frequent in-person contact were vast at the community level, with a 27-point variation across the ACP’s 15 types. The rural-urban-suburban divides were not clear-cut. Again, Aging Farmlands and Native American Lands saw the highest levels of face-to-face socialization on at least a weekly basis, at 61% and 60% respectively. But Evangelical Hubs, rural, homogeneous communities in the South, came in last at 34%, with Working Class Country in Appalachia and the South just ahead at 37%. College Towns stood below average at 40%. In densely populated Big Cities, 46% of residents said they spend time with friends in person at least weekly, a higher rate than in other suburban and rural communities. (Spending time with friends on at least a monthly basis jumped to 65% nationally.)”

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