Family Life Cuts Your Social Circle!

By Religare

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 12:34

When you embrace parenthood and welcome children into your lives, you bid farewell to social surroundings, claimed the survey.

The British study shows that having offspring makes us reduce friends at the rate of 2 kids to one pal, as parents fall back on family and professional helpers.
This results are part of a large-scale investigation, into how interactive and friendly the Britishers are,commissioned by Co-operatives UK.

The overall study presents, a picture of Britain becoming a lonely and secluded society of people who have more acquaintances but fewer close friends.

The Telegraph quoted Ed Mayo, secretary-general of Co-operatives UK, an association representing co- operative enterprises, as saying.“There are fewer friends, more loneliness, less contact with people around you unless you are proactive and go out to engage with people."

"There is not that bedrock of the garden fence to fall back on. Different patterns of family life and work have all contributed," he added.

The research, YouGov has polled 2,167 adults for Co- operatives UK using questions based largely on the 1982 Sunday Times/Mori study.

These results were then analyzed by Mayo and compared with the earlier findings.

And it has emerged that the average number of neighbours known to respondents has fallen sharply.

In the year 1982, nearly half believed they knew by name at least 11 neighbours and a quarter knew 20 or more. Sadly, the Current situation is that even the most neighbourly Britons, those who are in Scotland know an average of only 8.4 neighbours.

There has also been a decline, although it is less severed, in the number of friends, down from an average of 5.1 per person to 4.6. This led to a rapid rise in loneliness.

During the year,1982, report said that 76 per cent of people never experience loneliness, but this year the figure had fallen to just 32 per cent.

Mr Mayo described this finding as “very, very stark". He said: “People seem to have a wider circle of acquaintances and shallow friendships, particularly online, which cuts down the number to whom they feel really close."

Now, the average number of close friends for people with no children is 4.7 and this gradually declines until those who have three children have just 3.5.