Almost one in five men admits to having no close friends, a survey has found

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 4:39 PM UTC

ben_jones wrote: post #101

buro9 wrote: post #87

I run 300 forums, and I had a startup for them. The lofty goal of the startup was to "cure loneliness" but I never told the users that. My path to doing this was to encourage interest based communication, in a way that would allow them to take it offline. How? Well to make it interest + geography, i.e. horology nerds in Cumbria, cyclists in London, petrol heads in Cornwall, audiophiles in Suffolk. By binding together…

I feel like it would be appropriate to share some of these forums in this thread, I think the immediate need outweighs anyone calling it out as self-promotion.

Post by fromMars » Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 4:39 PM UTC

motohagiography wrote: post #90

These trends are set in contrast to times when fraternal organizations provided a kind of social fabric that isn't the norm now. For men who are recognizing that social isolation is a long term risk in their lives and want to do something about it, I heartily recommend looking into these organizations. They're a mixed bag, like anything, but a bunch of guys who can hold anything together for decades should make anyon…

Post by whateveracct » Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 4:40 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #96

username90 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my wife and kids fill the void This is pretty common among men, but what happens if you get divorced? Any plan-b?

What is interesting is that most people understand the concept of a plan B when it comes to things like what university they will attend, their careers, their financial safety nets, etc. But they assume their marriage will last forever. As you imply, it’s a big mistake.

Post by heavenlyblue » Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 4:41 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #72

throwaway66920 wrote: post #17

The article states 18% of men had no close friends, significantly higher than women at 12%. Honestly that’s doesn’t sound hugely different to me. For every two women with none, there’s three men with none. The gap is a bit smaller for best friends too.

Imagine if it were pay. Women only get 66% of the loneliness men get. This is a national crisis and I demand equality for women.

Post by Abishek_Muthian » Sun, Sep 22, 2019, 4:42 PM UTC

kempbellt wrote: post #91

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #57

Is being lonely really that bad? I like being lonely, not that it makes me happy, as a matter of fact it may be opposite but I really didn't like when I was not lonely (or) say when I had to socialise, indulge in the small-talk just for the sake of it; I felt like having to constantly fake emotions and have insincere conversations. I've almost completely cut off any realtime communication and my current lifestyle see…

You are describing being "alone", not being "lonely". Lonely, is defined as "sad because one has no friends or company". Which I would say is unfortunately common in the modern world, where we believe the internet to connect people, but in reality it socially isolates. Alone, simply meaning "having no one else present", is not that bad, no, until you start to feel lonely. I enjoy alone time for the same reasons you d…