Internet "kills off your friends"

The study by boffins at Duke University and the University of Arizona claimed that the number of people who say they have no one to talk to about important matters has more than doubled.

The average number of people which respondents said they could discuss important matters with had fallen from three to two.

The boffins think that this is because the more insular population is increasingly reliant on family members as confidants.

Apparently, new technology means that people are being linked over greater distances, but is cutting face-to-face meeting time. It also means that people have no interest in politics or other things that require a feeling of social responsibility.

The study uses data from a survey first carried out in 1985 and repeated in 2004. More than 1,500 people were surveyed.

However, the researchers think that there might also have been a subtle change in language since 1984 that might have affected the results.

People might not consider e-mailing or instant messaging "discussing". More here. µ