Social Isolation Growing

"Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago," says
Shankar Vedantam, a Washington Post Staff Writer. "And a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States.

A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two.

The comprehensive new study paints a sobering picture of an increasingly fragmented America, where intimate social ties -- once seen as an integral part of daily life and associated with a host of psychological and civic benefits -- are shrinking or nonexistent. In bad times, far more people appear to suffer alone.

The implication for meeting professionals: the need for face-to-face meetings will never die. People will be amenable if only to stem some of the tied of the growing feeling of isolation in their personal lives.

Reasons People Volunteer

Need help with your next meeting? Here is a roster of reasons why people volunteer:

1. Fill time

2. Repay a perceived indebtedness

3. Because someone they love benefits

4. To set an example for children

5. To work as a family

6. Someone they love is also involved

7. To meet people

8. To please someone else

9. To have fun

10. To gain skills

11. To gain experience

12. To be visible

13. To gain credit

14. To express their religion or belief

15. To find happiness

16. To employ otherwise unused gifts or skills

17. Because of tradition

18. As part of a group

19. To maintain health

20. To explore new learning, ideas

21. To heal

22. To avert loneliness

23. Because of interest

24. As a hobby

25. Out of concern

26. To receive a tax benefit

27. To counter-point paid work

28. As an extension of a job

29. Because they were assigned

30. To survive tragedy (cope)

31. To test leadership skills

32. To gain recognition

33. To acquire self-confidence

34. To be a change agent

35. To right a wrong

36. To work in a safe place

37. To save money

38. To have a purpose

39. To be a good neighbor

40. To get out of the house

41. To keep active

42. To experience new lifestyles

43. To feel a sense of power and success