Is 2.08 Really the Loneliest Number? Sociologist Casts Doubt on a Study

By DAVID GLENN

In the summer of 2006, several major news outlets gave prominent coverage to a sociological study with a grim message: Americans’ social isolation had increased radically since the 1980s. Whereas in 1985 Americans reported that, on average, they had 2.94 friends or family members with whom they...