Indeed, a couple of dating agencies have realised the isolation that certain levels of pet devotion can impose, and have set up special services for "animal people".

BBC: News | UK | Lonely pets seek love on the net

More work remains to address persistent causes of undercounting, such as poverty, mobility, language isolation, low levels of education, and general awareness of the survey, in addition to duplicate counts among the elderly and college students living away from home.

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Some of these effects have to do with demographic factors for instance, higher education levels correlate positively with use of social networking sites and negatively with measures of social isolation.

FORBES: Relax, All That Time You Spend on Facebook Is Good for You