Abstract
The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute is a member of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), a cross-national collaboration group conducting surveys on social topics. The theme of the 2017 survey was “Social Networks and Social Resources.” From the results of the survey in Japan, this report focuses on contact with others, friendships, and the link between personal relationships and satisfaction with life.Looking at the relation between the frequency of SNS use and contact with others, those who use SNS frequently have contact with their close friends more often. Among the elderly, too, SNS users have more contact with their children aged 18 and older.Middle-aged and elderly men (aged 50 and older) showed a tendency to have shallow friendships. For example, while around 20% of the entire respondents said, “I have no friends to turn to talk about my problem” the figures are more than 30% for men in their 50s and 60s, respectively, and more than half for men aged 70 and older. Whereas around 40% of the entire respondents cited “close friend” for someone they can turn to “be there for you if you feel down and want to talk” as well as to “give you advice about family problems,” the figures are as low as 20% to 30% for men aged 50 and older.Regarding satisfaction with life, the more contact with others or friends, the higher percentage of those who are satisfied with life. This is especially remarkable for middle-aged men in their 40s and 50s. Their levels of satisfaction markedly vary depending on the number of advisors they can turn to when they have problems.
