Just Wondering:

Did you know that since 1985, Americans are thought to be suffering a loss in the quality and quantity of close friendships? That 25% of Americans have no close confidants, and the average total number of confidants per citizen has dropped from four to two? That modern American friendships have lost the "force and importance" of earlier times?

Why are friendships on the wane? Are we just too busy? Is it the change in our priorities? Is it because we work longer hours? Is it because for many people a job is not just a job? Have we placed more importance on our jobs, or it is because our jobs are a more important part of our identity than they used to be?

Has television replaced friendship? (ie, do you know more about this season's Dancing with the Stars contestant than your next door neighbor?) Have we stopped talking to one another? In the overuse of modern technology do we have too many casual relationships and lost the art of true friendship?

"Nothing replaces friendship: not money, power, beauty, possessions or fame." -Rita Robinson, The Friendship Book: The Art of Making and Keeping Friends; "The only thing we'll be remembered for when we die is the love we leave behind." -Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, On Death and Dying