Are New Yorkers Lonely?

An interesting new article in New York points out that in the United States, “New York County is the unrivaled leader in single-individual households.” So are New Yorkers lonely? Not really. Despite living alone, New Yorkers rarely feel alone. They have large social networks, made up of other single livers, which have the same positive effects on attitude and health as marriage. This may explain the negative correlation between population density and the suicide rate: Montana, Nevada, Alaska, New Mexico, and Wyoming have the highest suicide rates in the nation. "New York was the Web before the Web was the Web,” Jennifer Senior writes, “characterized by the same free-flowing interaction, 24/7 rhythms, subgroups, and demimondes."