The 2004 GSS Finding of Shrunken Social Networks: An Artifact?

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Social Connectivity in America: Changes in Adult Friendship Network Size From 2002 to 2007 (2010, background): “Although the authors were cautious in reporting a significant downward change (cf. Fischer, 2009; McPherson et al., 2009), release of their findings nonetheless led to the return of yet another media panic over the quality of people’s personal and communal lives.”
Dispositional Optimism and the Emergence of Social Network Diversity (2012, methodology): “Following the same logic, a white female’s personal network ranges in size from 1.7 to 2.6 (0.5–0.9 for nonkin), whereas an AfricanAmerican female’s network ranges from 1.4 to 2.0 (0.4–0.9 for nonkin).”
The Suffocation of Marriage: Climbing Mount Maslow Without Enough Oxygen (2014, background): “…be no debate that (a) the size of Americans’ conﬁdant social networks has shrunk in recent decades and (b) spouses make up a larger proportion of these conﬁdants today than they did previously (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Bras-hears, 2006, 2008, 2009; also see Fischer, 2009; Paik & Sanchagrin, 2013).”
Know Your Neighbors, Save the Planet (2016, unknown): “Fischer (2009) used these same variables to help refute an earlier study (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears, 2006) which claimed that social isolation among Americans had increased dramatically over the previous 20 years.”