Single, friendless and lonely: “The US is falling apart socially”

One by one, they arrive. On a Washington, D.C., rooftop, young men stand in small groups, unsure what to do with their hands. They slip them into pockets, wrap them around beer glasses, or reach for their phones a little too often.

The gathering reflects growing attention in the United States to what some describe as an epidemic of lonely men. More men have few close friends, and researchers warn about the consequences.

Could an epidemic of lonely men be a symptom of something larger? That is the question raised by a researcher as concerns grow about the country’s social fabric.