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Sound depressing, even apocalyptic? Well, it could be the future. If government forecastspredictiongoalsaims forecasts are right, about 20 years from now, two out of five households will be single occupiedoccupancyhouseholdfamily occupancy . And there is evidence the situation is already deterioratingimprovingdamagingrecovering deteriorating . According to a report, Social Isolation in America, published in the American Sociological Review in 2006, the average American today has only two close friends. Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed said they do not have anyone to talk with about important things.

And yet, while some are declaringrequiringannouncingreleasing declaring a crisis in our ability to make friends, others are saying exactly the opposite. For example, MSN's Anatomy of Friendship Report, published last November, suggests that the average Briton has 54 friends - a spectacularamazingspecialapplausive spectacular rise of 64 per cent since 2003.