A study done in America asked people how many confidants – how many really close friends – they have in their life. 30 years ago researchers asked the same question, and the average answer was three. The next time they asked, it had dropped to zero.

Zero confidants, was people’s most common response.

Modern life steers us towards isolation. We are just so busy juggling all the responsibilities of our lives, that we don’t automatically carve out the margin to nurture meaningful community.

Though we hold in our hand devices that connect us to almost everyone we’ve ever met, there are less and less people with whom we feel truly, intimately known.