#244: For the next installment of our series on How to Not Be Lonely in LA, we’re honing in on one demographic: Men. In all the conversations we’ve been having with people about loneliness and human connection…be it with experts or every day Angelenos …this theme kept coming up: In a nation in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, A LOT of people are lonely. But men, typically, are the loneliest. How To LA producer Megan Botel unpacks the reasons why men tend to be lonelier than women, the importance of male friendships, and how men can create meaningful connections.
When Dave Pidancet’s third son was born early last year, he knew something had to change.
With now three children under 6, he struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness as a stay-at-home dad in Mar Vista. He found himself going long stretches of time surrounded by kids, not interacting with another adult.
“For men especially, it’s a little embarrassing to admit that we’re lonely or that we need a friend,” Pidancet says. “We might invent some reasons for why we’re not reaching out and getting out of the house, like we’re too busy, our kids need us, the house is falling apart.”
But as research about the nationwide loneliness epidemic mounted, he decided to take action and “push through the awkwardness,” as he put it. He attempted to talk about these feelings with other dads.
It was within these conversations that he realized nearly every man he spoke to was, to some extent, in the same pain.
“It’s almost like an…
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