cognitive performance equally as well as so-called intellectual activities. Social interaction directly affects memory and mental performance in a positive way.

Impact on Mortality

:

Coronary disease:

Women who have suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) with a small social circle exhibit more than twice the death rate of those with a larger social circle.

Living alone:

People living alone experience a significan tly increased mortality compared to people living with somebody, married or not.

Cumulative marriage:

In middle-aged men, there is a strong protective effect of marriage that actually occurs in a dose-dependent manner. By simply adding together the periods of time a man was married, the protective effects are seen as cumulative, as are the harmful effects of years being divorced. This cumulative effect is handed down from father to son, continuing to affect t he rate of early death in subsequ ent generations.

Single women:

Remaining single has, however, been found to offer one particular health benefit to women. In the United States, the decline in marriage has been cited as the cause for a decline in t he murder rate, as fewer husbands now have fewer opportunities to kill fewer wives.

Further Extracts from the Paper:

“For the first time in our history a third of the adults in this country live alone, a trend that looks set to continue and is now highly pronounced in the age group 25 to 44.” “Britain’s disinclinat ion for t ogetherness is only equalled by her veneration of communicating through new t echnologies . This is now the most significan t contributing factor t o society’s growing physical estrangement. Wheth er in or out of the home, more people of all ages in t he UK are physically and socially disengaged from the people around them because they are wearing earphones, talking or texting on a mobile phone, or using a laptop or Blackberry. Eye and ear contact between people of all ages and relationships is declining, ” writes the paper’s author Dr Aric Sigman. “Time that was previously spent interacting socially is increasingly been displaced by the virtual variety. Children now spend more time in the family home alone in front of TV/computer screens than doing anything else: twenty five per cent of British five-year olds own a computer or laptop of their own. There is an enormous increase in ‘social networking’ among younger and younger children, which is now their main reason for using the Internet. UK social-network ing usage is now the highest in Europe. The trend is set to increase.” “Couples now spend less time in one another’s company and more t ime at work, commuting, or in the same house but in separate rooms using different electronic media devices.”

“It is clear that this is a growing public health issue for all industrialis ed countries. Children are now experiencing less social interaction and have fewer social connection s during key stages of their physiological, emotional and social development. An increasing proportion of men and women are living alone during their ‘mating years’ having far fewer social contacts. And as the greying of the population continues , the incidence and effects of social isolation are pronounced.”

Dr Aric Sigman