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Just guessing: smaller and broken families, more time behind screens, less male-only and female-only spaces, more mobility. Worse for males because women are m

by raarts 5y ago

Just guessing: smaller and broken families, more time behind screens, less male-only and female-only spaces, more mobility. Worse for males because women are more social-oriented.

gumby 5y ago
That's a lot of presuppositions and stereotypes in two sentences. It's possible that some of those factors matter (I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization) but, to provide anecdote, my circle of friends expanded after my breakup, which makes sense.
- FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
  > my circle of friends expanded after my breakup, which makes sense. This surprises me. Usually breakups cost friends, as some are associated more with the partner you're leaving. > I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization I dunno, there can be a lot of socialization within the extended family. It has a lot to do with culture though. In some there'll be a WhatsApp group full of cousins and aunties, plus three generations actually living together in a big compound, and all the socialization you could need (and then some). And if you travel you'll never need a hotel. Lots of cultures like this.
- TheFreim 5y ago
  > That's a lot of presuppositions and stereotypes in two sentences. In my (limited) experience many stereotypes are accurate. > I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization It really depends, but I don't know. Large families are correlated with certain activities, beliefs, etc which might be what help increase social interaction. I know a lot of parents who have big families and their kids basically introduce them to half a dozen families who they're friends with and it exponentially increases opportunity for socializing as the children age and dynamics change.
  - aaron695 5y ago
    > In my (limited) experience many stereotypes are accurate. This is also well proven - https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/stereotype-accuracy-response https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/stereotype-accuracy-re...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
Yeah, most tribes don't try to put men and women together all the time. It stresses people out.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 5y ago
  Unless you happen to be one of a very limited number of scientists studying such things, you have no idea how "most tribes" do anything. Besides... "most tribes" bury their people in their late 40s on average. The belief that they have it all figured out is called the naturalistic fallacy.
  - Grakel 5y ago
    And that's called gatekeeping.
  - FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
    Ok, here are the first five examples I thought of: Massai (men eat separately from women) Victorians (yeah. White people.) Trobianders (you know, because I'm supposed to be a credentialed anthropologist) Amish (they still exist!) Roma (DW has a nice documentary) Then I googled for a list of Amazon tribes, took the first name I found ("Aweti"), and looked them up in Wikipedia. Immediately, "Culture" section: > A men's hut is also located in the center of the village, and is used for holding ritual flutes which are not allowed to be seen by women. What are the odds? Look: You know how I know this? Because all these tribes are composed of people no different from you and me. This is just how people are.
woodruffw 5y ago
> Just guessing: smaller and broken families, more time behind screens, less male-only and female-only spaces, more mobility. For the first two: the US divorce rate was at its near peak around the time that the linked article's poll shows that male friendships were at their high mark[1]. The average US family size has also not changed significantly since 1990[2]. Put another way: there were more "broken" families in 1990, at a time when the poll says that more men had closer friendships, and the average family size hasn't swung in any direction that would suggest any relationship. [1]: https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-us-divorce-rate-has-hit-a-50-year-low https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-us-divorce-rate-has-hit-a-50-... [2]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/183657/average-size-of-a-family-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/183657/average-size-of-a...
- MathYouF 5y ago
  And the children of those broken 1990 families are now the ones responding to the polls in 2021. The ones responding to the polls then were divorced men who had been raised in stabler 1960's families. Maybe being divorced isn't the problem, being raised by broken families is.

by raarts 5y ago

Just guessing: smaller and broken families, more time behind screens, less male-only and female-only spaces, more mobility. Worse for males because women are more social-oriented.

gumby 5y ago

That's a lot of presuppositions and stereotypes in two sentences. It's possible that some of those factors matter (I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization) but, to provide anecdote, my circle of friends expanded after my breakup, which makes sense.

FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
> my circle of friends expanded after my breakup, which makes sense. This surprises me. Usually breakups cost friends, as some are associated more with the partner you're leaving. > I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization I dunno, there can be a lot of socialization within the extended family. It has a lot to do with culture though. In some there'll be a WhatsApp group full of cousins and aunties, plus three generations actually living together in a big compound, and all the socialization you could need (and then some). And if you travel you'll never need a hotel. Lots of cultures like this.
TheFreim 5y ago
> That's a lot of presuppositions and stereotypes in two sentences. In my (limited) experience many stereotypes are accurate. > I'd think smaller families would increase availability for socialization It really depends, but I don't know. Large families are correlated with certain activities, beliefs, etc which might be what help increase social interaction. I know a lot of parents who have big families and their kids basically introduce them to half a dozen families who they're friends with and it exponentially increases opportunity for socializing as the children age and dynamics change.
- aaron695 5y ago
  > In my (limited) experience many stereotypes are accurate. This is also well proven - https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/stereotype-accuracy-response https://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/stereotype-accuracy-re...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

FooBarBizBazz 5y ago

Yeah, most tribes don't try to put men and women together all the time. It stresses people out.

IfOnlyYouKnew 5y ago
Unless you happen to be one of a very limited number of scientists studying such things, you have no idea how "most tribes" do anything. Besides... "most tribes" bury their people in their late 40s on average. The belief that they have it all figured out is called the naturalistic fallacy.
- Grakel 5y ago
  And that's called gatekeeping.
- FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
  Ok, here are the first five examples I thought of: Massai (men eat separately from women) Victorians (yeah. White people.) Trobianders (you know, because I'm supposed to be a credentialed anthropologist) Amish (they still exist!) Roma (DW has a nice documentary) Then I googled for a list of Amazon tribes, took the first name I found ("Aweti"), and looked them up in Wikipedia. Immediately, "Culture" section: > A men's hut is also located in the center of the village, and is used for holding ritual flutes which are not allowed to be seen by women. What are the odds? Look: You know how I know this? Because all these tribes are composed of people no different from you and me. This is just how people are.

woodruffw 5y ago

> Just guessing: smaller and broken families, more time behind screens, less male-only and female-only spaces, more mobility. For the first two: the US divorce rate was at its near peak around the time that the linked article's poll shows that male friendships were at their high mark[1]. The average US family size has also not changed significantly since 1990[2]. Put another way: there were more "broken" families in 1990, at a time when the poll says that more men had closer friendships, and the average family size hasn't swung in any direction that would suggest any relationship. [1]: https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-us-divorce-rate-has-hit-a-50-year-low https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-us-divorce-rate-has-hit-a-50-... [2]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/183657/average-size-of-a-family-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/183657/average-size-of-a...

MathYouF 5y ago
And the children of those broken 1990 families are now the ones responding to the polls in 2021. The ones responding to the polls then were divorced men who had been raised in stabler 1960's families. Maybe being divorced isn't the problem, being raised by broken families is.