Posted on 11/10/2026 3:21:53 AM PST by daniel1212
As Americans spend more of their time online, the neighborhood—once a primary physical location for real-world socialization—is playing less of a central role than ever before.... Whether because of social media distractions, travel sports commitments, or the rising use of freelance service providers ... Americans rely far less on close neighbors and venture out less often into their communities. As Marc Dunkelman contends in The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community, less routine interaction with neighbors and others in the “middle ring” of social connections allows us far fewer opportunities to practice constructive debate.[i]...
It’s not only a class divide. The new American Neighbor survey reveals evidence of a religious gap as well. Those who attend religious services frequently are much more socially active in their neighborhoods than are those who seldom or never participate in religious services. Americans who regularly attend religious services have stronger social connections with their neighbors and are more inclined to work with them to address community problems and concerns. Religious Americans interact with their communities differently, and their views about what it means to be a good neighbor are distinct. They are more likely to believe that good neighbors should seek opportunities to help those who live around them, even if their neighbors did not ask for help....
Comparisons to a 2012 study by Pew Research Center show that Americans are engaging less with their neighbors than just over a decade ago.[ii]...
Although the decline in neighborly interactions has occurred among Americans from all backgrounds, the collapse has been far more pronounced among certain groups. Social exchanges between neighbors are much more common among older Americans than among young adults. A majority (56 percent) of seniors report chatting with their neighbors at least a few times a week, demonstrating only a modest seven-point drop from 2012.
In contrast, patterns of socializing with neighbors have changed dramatically among young adults over the past decade. Only one in four young adults now report regularly engaging with their neighbors, but in 2012, more than half (51 percent) of young adults said they conversed with neighbors a few times a week or more.
Only 40 percent of Americans report talking to their neighbors regularly (at least a few times a week). This marks a considerable decline in social interaction between neighbors; in 2012, nearly six in 10 Americans (59 percent) said they talked to their neighbors at least a few times a week. In 2025, most Americans interacted with their neighbors sparingly. More than four in 10 (41 percent) Americans talked with their neighbors no more than a few times a month, while 17 percent report that they did not talk to their neighbors at all...
there is no indication that homeownership is associated with more frequent interactions with neighbors. Americans who rent their homes report engaging with their neighbors about as often as do those who own their homes...
Married Americans report talking to their neighbors more frequently and experienced a smaller overall decline in these interactions over the past decade. ...
Against a backdrop of rising social isolation, most Americans believe that being a good neighbor is more about keeping your distance than about engaging with the people living nearby...
Religious Americans tend to have different conceptions of neighborliness as well. Close to half (45 percent) of Americans who attend religious services multiple times a week say being a good neighbor requires engaging with the people who live around you even if they do not request it.
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As regards external sociological research on how parenthood and declining birth rates affect neighborhood cohesion,
parenthood acts as one of the most powerful catalysts for neighborhood interaction, while rising childlessness is actively reshaping local social capital. Sage Journals +1
From 1900 to 1965 Americans were more and more sociable. That began declining in 1966 and by 1980 we saw the first fruits.
Bowling leagues and PTA membership crashed, and church membership began to stall. It’s gotten worse ever since.
Main street churches are closing. Political Party membership is declining. Marriage and family creation is declining.
That same era, we became increasingly mobile. Children going off to college, marrying someone in that same college, not going back to their home town to live, etc.
I didn’t see mention there of transient living situations as a factor. It used to be far more common for families to settle down in one place and live there until they sold the home as grandparents.
I live in a city with townhouses in my neighborhood. Years ago the neighbors were friendly and tried to help and get along with others. Those people died of old age, moved to places like assisted living as they got older and the hood changed to the Milkenisls and Gen Z. These generations have no concept of neighborliness. They have no concept of having to interact with her human race. They do not care about knowing anyone even if their house is attached to houses on either side of them. They are rude and incredibly selfish. The few Boomers left who were healthy physically moved because they could not stand these young people.
Without communities, our society will soon die. Frightening to watch.
It’s generational. The younger generations have no concept of neighborhoods or neighborliness. They grew up on computers talking to people all over the world who are their “friends”. They have no interest in the person living next door to them and actually feel like having to interact with them is an intrusion into their privacy.
I retired and built a home in a rural remote area to get away from neighbors. I’ve got friends in neighborhoods that are large homes, every other one is identical with the next home less that 20’ away. No thank you. No cul-de-sac parties for me, no HOA BS, no interaction with assholes etc.
I can sit on my deck and watch deer, bear, bobcats, racoons etc and they are far more enjoyable then people. They don’t talk just glance over.
No HOA BS, can you keep it down, what are BBQ’ing (if allowed), your dog kept me up all night, did you hear about so & so..... Not the least bit interested.
My old neighborhood is not necessarily unfriendly; it’s just that the the married couples we used to visit with have died off, my wife is gone,etc. I have basically one neighbor left of my age group that I visit regularly with.
My old neighborhood is not necessarily unfriendly; it’s just that the the married couples we used to visit with have died off, my wife is gone,etc. I have basically one neighbor left of my age group that I visit regularly with.
Being from Houston I can mention the most important factor of destroying cities and communities in the South for better or for worse, it was instant and forced black integration, that was followed quickly by the arrival of mass immigration as Hispanics arrived by the millions.
It used to be somewhat common for Americans to walk into each other’s homes, some people would knock and then walk inside giving a yell for the neighbor, keys left in the cars overnight, windows left open all day in an empty house with the gun racks showing through the living room window, bicycles left out in the yard, car windows left open while at the mall or anywhere else with the car doors unlocked and windows down, that world ended suddenly and was replaced with burglar bars, big fences, dobermans, locked gates, bicycle locks and chains, and double bolt door locks, never leaving the car unlocked with windows up, even in the driveway, little kids carrying a house key around their neck since the house was always locked.
McMansions...
Yes. That started where I live and it started before the internet. In talking with my mother, I noticed people were very strongly bonded in her generation, something I know nothing of.
One of the reasons I see is immigrants moving into neighborhoods and refusing to asimiate.
Example: 2 doors down from me the home has had two different owners in the past 3 years, both Vietnamese.
They stick to themselves and have no desire to communicate with anyone on the street I know of.
I walk my dog past their house every morning and in the year or so they’ve been there I have barely gotten an acknowledgement out of either the man or woman.
The group that was in there before that were even worse, playing loud music until late in the night and didn’t make any effort to get to know anyone.
A story too long to tell here but I suspected illegal activity and possibly housing illegal aliens by the first group so I reported it to ICE. Inside of two months they sold the house and moved.
Bonhoeffer explanation of stupidity identifies part of the reason. The gap between left and right has gotten wider is another. Throw in diversity and you have three.
meh. I think i’m a good neighbor. I keep to myself, wave hello, my dog does not keep people up, we mow our lawn.
I don’t socialize- I never have, even as a young mom I’ve kept to myself. I always keep people at arms length- I don’t want to know your business, and you don’t need to know mine.
I don’t think that makes me a bad person.
At least some of this is about politics. Today it’s much easier for me to have a sense of community with fellow conservatives.
I remember visiting liberal family members decades ago. They were in urban settings, first Chicago, then Portland, OR. “Community” was a buzzword and nothing was more important than “a sense of community.” Question at your peril. It’s like they got their marching orders from Obama.
One sister participated in “a block party.” She was among the hosts. People came in, drank, snacked, conversed and left to go to another house.
One conversation was decidedly liberal, and I decided to throw in a conservative remark. People remained politely neutral (back then). There was a man seated on a couch facing away. When I was done speaking, he stood up and walked out of the house. Apparently. one conservative remark was one too many for him. I was amazed. I wonder if he was the commissar.
I was with another liberal(ish) family group a few days after Charly Kirk was assassinated. They went on and on about Gabby Giffords as a way to avoid talking about Charlie Kirk. Again, I was flabbergasted.
I live in a condo now. During Covid, an unvaccinated person was supposed to announce their status before entering a room in the clubhouse. I just never went.
The next time we have a meeting I might enter and loudly announce “Unvaccinated person entering the room.” I expect most people will be confused as Covid is so 5 minutes ago.
People move around so much now, that they feel where they live is just “temporary”, they don’t feel connected to the places they live.
It used to be people spent their whole lives living in one state. Now they change jobs every few years.
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