Craving Connection In The Digital Age
If you’re going through your day with very little face-to-face interaction, you’re not alone. A new study from the American Time Use Survey found that more than two-thirds of Americans don’t socialize at all on an average day.
Think about what you do after a long day at work and a stressful drive home, or maybe you work from home, and there’s no interaction. Are you getting together with friends and co-workers for happy hour? Meeting someone for dinner or going for a walk with a neighbor?
Or are you more likely to relax on the couch, watch some Netflix, and scroll through your phone than make plans to go out?
According to the study, people were less likely to engage in socializing and communicating on an average day in 2025 than in 2015, 30% compared with 38%, with time spent socializing dropping from 41 minutes to 35 minutes per day.
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The study doesn’t really come as a big surprise, but more a reminder of just how consumed we’ve become with our phones. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much time we’re spending on them instead of actually interacting with people.
Social Connection Matters More As Face-to-face Time Fades
And it doesn’t always have to be a big social event.
According to the experts, there’s still a strong need and desire for social connection, and sometimes just getting out of the house, being active, and having a conversation with someone can make you feel so much better.
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