Teenagers have fewer friends than 20 years ago, research has shown — despite the increasing popularity of social media.

A study carried out by experts at the University of Queensland in Australia, found teens felt less lonely than two decades ago — but that they have poorer social networks.

A survey of more than 285,000 U.S. high school students carried out between 1991 and 2012 found young people had fewer friends with whom to interact, but less desire for more friends.

The Globe and Mail quotes the findings of research, printed in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, which suggests economic changes may have prompted increased individuality among young people.

The authors behind the study wrote, “Greater economic opportunities offer individuals more latitude to manage their own money, decide whom to date and decide whom to marry, reducing the influence of kin and giving people more autonomy, which may increase individualism.

“Economic changes lead to increased individuality, which could lead to decreasing interest in friends, increasing self-reliance, increasing self-esteem and decreasing loneliness.”

Lead researcher David Clark said further research on cultures outside of the United States would help determine if modernization is the root cause of the observed results.

The findings come after a series of studies have shown that the growing use of social networking sites has had a negative affect on the quality of people’s friendships.

A study from 2006 by sociologists at Duke University also showed that on average most adults only have two people they can talk to about the most important subjects in their lives while one quarter had no close confidants at all.

    研究表明，与20年前相比较，尽管社交媒体大行其道，青少年的朋友却日益减少。

    来自澳大利亚昆士兰大学的专家调查发现，尽管青少年的生活相比20年前孤独感在减少，但他们的社交圈子还不如从前。

    一份从1991年到2012年、涵盖28.5万美国高中生的研究发现，虽然年轻人有互动的朋友越来越少，但他们并不渴望交更多朋友。

    《环球邮报》引用刊登在《个性和社会心理学学报》上的调查结果指出：经济增长可能促进了年轻人个人主义的滋长。

    该研究的作者写道：“经济越宽裕，个体的自由度越大。如何支配金钱，和谁约会、结婚，都更加自主。家族的影响减弱了，人们拥有更多自主权，个人主义也随之滋长。”

    “经济变化促使个人主义倾向增长的同时，可能导致人们交友兴趣减弱，使人们更加自立、自尊、孤独感减少。”

    首席研究员大卫·克拉克说，现代化是否是造成已知结果的根本原因，还有待在美国以外的其他文化中进一步研究。

    此前的一系列研究表明，社交网络使用的普及不利于人们增进友情。

    杜克大学的社会学家2006年的一项研究也表明，平均来讲，大多数成年人只有两个知己可以倾诉生活中重要的事情，而四分之一的人根本没有一个可以说知心话的人。

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【自主】zìzhǔ autonomy — the ability of an individual to exercise his or her rights, have choices respected, remain independent and be involved in his or her own care decisions

【知己】zhījǐ confidant — a person to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed