How has loneliness changed in recent years?

Here's an interest article that goes against some of what you may have heard reported on the topic. Compare and contrast the premise that "There has been a growing concern that modern society is increasingly lonely" with the studies reported here.

Study 1

"showed a modest decline in loneliness over time"

Study 2 (with a different sample group):

"high school students reported a decline in loneliness from 1991 to 2012.

Where this gets interesting:

subjective isolation declined, but social network isolation increased, which suggests that high school students perceive less loneliness but poorer social networks. High school students reported fewer friends with whom to interact, but less desire for more friends.

So ... less likely to feel alone but more likely to actually be alone.