The Atlantic’s February Cover Story: Derek Thompson on “The Anti-Social Century”

Derek Thompson's article "The Anti-Social Century" explores why Americans are spending more time alone than ever and how this is changing their personalities, politics, and relationship to reality. Thompson argues that self-imposed solitude is the most important social fact of 21st-century America, and that Americans are not reacting to the biological cue to spend more time with others. He spoke with various experts who agree that the individual preference for solitude is rewiring America's civic and psychic identity, with far-reaching consequences. The rise of American aloneness began with the automobile and television, and has been accelerated by the smartphone, which occupies over 30% of kids' and teenagers' waking life. Adults are also spending more time at home alone, with an additional 99 minutes per day compared to 2003. This isolation is making society weaker, meaner, and more delusional, and is particularly damaging to the "middle ring" of relationships with people who live nearby but may have different views. The erosion of these relationships has coincided with the emergence of a divisive style of politics. Thompson concludes that technology adoption can create values, and that we should prioritize long-term health over instant gratification when selecting technology. He suggests that we need to ask ourselves what it would mean to prioritize community health over individual convenience. The article "The Anti-Social Century" is available at TheAtlantic.com.