Evidence base
Axios
Americans of All Ages Are Spending Less Time Socializing
What it found
Axios reporting cites time-use data showing Americans' daily face-to-face socializing fell from 45 to about 35 minutes over twenty years, with only 30% of Americans socializing on an average day in 2024, down from 38% in 2014. The decline is steepest among 15-24 year-olds, whose daily socializing time dropped from roughly one hour to 35 minutes. Americans averaged 6 hours 40 minutes alone per day in 2024.
Why it matters for practice
This is a useful top-line indicator of eroding social contact time across age groups, but as reporting on time-use data it doesn't establish causes or what counts as "socializing." Programme designers should treat the youth figure as a signal worth cross-checking against dedicated loneliness or time-use surveys before building targeting decisions on it.