[powersnail]

> A whopping 46% of Americans report feeling sometimes or always alone.

Well, I always thought that I feel lonely because I'm a foreigner in US. It seems like the culture itself at least contributes partly.

There is a bizarre phenomenon that I don't understand about socializing in US: outside of specialized hobby groups or clubs, people don't do stuff when they are together. They just "hang out" around grills and pizzas. And it's not because of the lack of opportunities. If you are really good friends, you might go to watch a sports game or play sports together. If you are in a hiking hobbyist group, you might go hiking. But among general acquaintances, all participatory activities seem to disappear.

Whereas in China, you have the choice of KTV, escape rooms, cards, and all sorts of group recreational activities.

Of course, it could be that I'm hanging around the wrong crowd here in the US. My anecdotal experience certainly doesn't cover a lot of population.

[yawboakye]

Americans, in my experience, have mastered the art of fake enthusiasm (and likely are the first to say "exciting" in an exchange). It seems to be overflowing into Canada, in fact (still anecdotal). No idea why they are unable to show real emotions but have to come across as enthusiastic, empathetic, all the good stuff. All this in public. I wonder what they deal with in the solitude of themselves, and how.

[frenchy]

I'm not sure why you were downvoted, but your experience (or anyone's really) is going to be pretty idiocyncratic.

America is a big place (China is too!) and there are a lot of distinct sub-cultures. There absolutely is karaoke, escape rooms, cards, and all sorts of recreational activities in the US, and these wouldn't exist if nobody did them. In my experience these sort of things are mostly done by people 25 and under.

To be fair, watching television is a big part of American culture. Eating food is a big part of every culture I'm familiar with.

Also, I'd be suprised 46% of the population feeling lonely at least sometimes wasn't very normal in most highly urban and mobile societies.

Edit: accidentally slaughtered a few words

[jdavis703]

These are definitely the people you’re hanging out with. I would say outside of parties/partying most socializing is activity-based, at least in my personal experience.