What’s the Deal with Young Men?

Feb 28, 2023 | Finconomics 101, No Bull Economics

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60%+ of young men identify as single & 15% have no close friends according to Pew Research. It is fair to conclude that elevated feelings of loneliness & isolation among young men are negatively impacting the economy…

Pew Research Study Key Points

An unusual phenomenon is reported in a Pew Research study in which almost double the number of young men report being single relative to women, even though the population is evenly divided by gender. Perhaps an even more unnerving statistic shows that out of all single men in 2022, only 50% of them are even looking for a relationship.  

In any case, single young men are more likely to live at home with their parents which have negative implications for the economy (less spending on housing, etc.) & demographics (less family formation & a lower population). A difficult metric to measure is the impact this development has on the labor force & entrepreneurship as single young men have less motivation to grow their salaries.

Single Men Statistics Graph
Single Men Statistics Graph

Notably, there has been a large jump in the number of men with no close friends & a large decline in their overall number of friends from 1990 to 2021, as evident below.

Men Close Friends Graph
Men Close Friends Graph

Sources: https://www.pewresearch.org/, https://www.americansurveycenter.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA6fafBhC1ARIsAIJjL8kTlfd-0u3z2iBxLl9Q82Gcshn60Rq9nDt4e1RjZwoy2bwmiQQCPIIaAtldEALw_wcB

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