Thank you for pointing out the negative affect- that's entirely true! It's incredibly hard to see friends, with the price of travel and everyone having to work all the time. I know many people who work 9-5:30 with a 2 hr commute each way just to get home to a dark silent apartment and eat a Lean Cuisine. An Uber driver from Kenya told me the other day, "In my town when work is over, we all gather together for dinner and music and games." I wish the US could be like that.