The decline in Americans’ connections with others is driven by a substantial decrease in the proportion of Americans who say they regularly eat dinner with their families. Visiting friends is more stable. Yet, online “chat” has risen rapidly of late, but the big increase in 2005 does not affect the reported Index, which stops in 2004, the last year data were available across all measures.

DETAILS
▪ “Family eats together”: DDB asks whether the “whole family usually eats dinner together.” We combine “agree” and “definitely agree.”

▪ “Visit friends a lot”: DDB asks whether respondents “spend a lot of time visiting friends.” Again, we com- bine “agree and “definitely agree.”

▪ “Online chat or forum often”: DDB asks how often people participate in a chat room or online forum per year. We count nine times or more per year as “often.”