Sen. Ben Sasse tackles loneliness in his new book, "Them: Why We Hate Each Other - and How to Heal," and said Sunday during an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the digital revolution is "really undermining that sense of local community and neighborhood."
The Nebraska lawmaker explores the "evaporation of social capital" in his book, and says Americans are "literally dying of despair," of the failure "to fill the hole millions of Americans feel in their lives."
"There's a ton of literature now that shows we're the richest people in the history of humanity," Sasse told CBS' John Dickerson. "And yet we're some of the most dissatisfied people in the history humanity. How do you make sense of that? And it didn't start two years ago."
When asked whether politics and President Donald Trump play a role in the country's divisiveness and loneliness, Sasse said the issue is a long-standing one.
"The president and I wrestle on a whole bunch of issues," said Sasse. "There are things we agree on, things we disagree on. But I don't think most of what Americans are wrestling with is a problem that's two years old. I think we've had a halving of friendship in America in the last 27 years. It's a stunning thing."
Relying on social media for friends doesn't make you happier, either, said Sasse.
"But if you know the neighbor who lives two doors away from you, statistically you're more likely to be happy. We need to attend to those kind of things. It's a big deal," he added.
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