Men are rapidly losing their close friends, poll finds

The decline in male friendships has been precipitous. A May 2021 poll from the Survey Center on American Life revealed the number of American men who view themselves as having "no close friends" quintupled over the last 30 years, increasing from 3 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2021. What's more, just 15 percent of men consider themselves as having 10 or more close friends, a steep drop from the 40 percent of men who reported such bromances in 1990.

Although female friendships have also taken a hit over the years, their decline was less dramatic — 11 percent of women report having 10 or more close friends this year, down just 17 percent from 1990, and 10 percent say they have no close friends at all.

Oh, brother.

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The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey polled 2,019 adults from May 14-May 23, 2021. Results have a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points. See more results at the Survey Center on American Life.

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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.