Recommended Reading--Who Are You Callin' Lonely?!

I highly recommend the fascinating cover story, The Loneliness Myth, by Jennifer Senior in last week's New York Magazine.  It leads with a surprising statistic:  More than half (50.6%) of all households in Manhattan are occupied by only one resident, which is a higher percentage than you'll find in Brooklyn (29.5%), Queens (26.1%) or in the other 3,138 counties of the United States. 

Much has been written about the profound alienation experienced by individuals moving to a city, the shock of feeling lonely in such a populous environment, but this alienation might have more to do with the transition, the novelty of urban life in the first few months.  After living here for some time, the number of social networks, of strong and weak ties, quickly outpace those in smaller communities.

People consistently claim that they feel less lonely in New York.  Statistics reveal that our suicide rates are among the very lowest in the country and living here also seems to stave off divorce and Alzheimer's Disease.  Read The Loneliness Myth for details. 

Comments

[Brian Fields]

wonder where LA ranks in the loneliness, suicide, divorce, alcoholism, and Alzheimer's categories?

[Berda]

So true! If I ever got lonely all I had to do was walk 6 blocks to where my friends were working and have dinner at the bar! Another reason to love New York!