The lonely American
Subtitle: drifting apart in the twenty-first century
By: Jacqueline Olds and Richard S. Schwartz.
Contributors: Schwartz, Richard
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 228
ISBN-13: 9780807000342
Subjects: Social isolation -- United States; Loneliness -- United States
Description: "In today's world, it is more acceptable to be depressed than to be lonely - yet loneliness appears to be the inevitable by-product of our frenetic contemporary lifestyles. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, one out of four Americans talked to no one about something of importance to them during the last six months. Another remarkable fact emerged from the 2000 U.S. Census: more people are living alone today than at any point in the country's history - fully 25 percent of households consist of one person only. In this crucial look at one of America's few remaining taboo subjects - loneliness - Drs. Jacqueline Olds and Richard S. Schwartz set out to understand the cultural imperatives. psychological dynamics, and physical mechanisms underlying social isolation." "In The Lonely American, cutting-edge research on the physiological and cognitive effects of social exclusion and emerging work in the neurobiology of attachment uncover the startling, sobering ripple effects of loneliness in areas as varied as physical health, children's emotional problems, substance abuse, and even global warming." "Surprising new studies tell a grim truth about social isolation: being disconnected diminishes happiness, health, and longevity; increases aggression; and correlates with increasing rates of violent crime. Loneliness doesn't apply simply to single people, either - today's busy parents "cocoon" themselves by devoting most of their non-work hours to their children, leaving little time for friends and other forms of social contact, and unhealthily relying on the marriage to fulfill all emotional needs."

"As a core population of socially isolated individuals and families continues to balloon in size, it is more important than ever to understand the effects of a culture that idealizes busyness and self-reliance. It's time to bring loneliness - a very real and little-discussed social epidemic with frightening consequences - out into the open, and find a way to navigate the tension between freedom and connection in our lives."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The elephant in the room; title: Frantic without a peep: busyness as a virtue and a curse; title: Self-reliance: do lonesome cowboys sing the blues?; title: Left out: an organism uunder stress; title: Free at last: American living arrangements; title: The technology of relationships: a brief review; title: Love and marriage in a busy world; title: The ripple effects of increasing social isolation; title: Social disconnection and the mental health industry; title: Staying limber.