Sure that's sometimes the case. But on the whole I would bet that the average American is more physically and emotionally isolated from their peers outside thei

Sure that's sometimes the case. But on the whole I would bet that the average American is more physically and emotionally isolated from their peers outside their immediate family or housemates than any other society in history. The analogy that came to mind was to image advising firefighters to avoid drowning the cat when they're trying to put out a house fire.