Derek Thompson

Every month, everybody gets together. Every two months, everybody gets together. I think the problem is, especially for young people who aren't established at work and really can be profoundly lonely, who need to build friends, need to build networks, if they're working from home, There's many times, I think, where the company isn't an office. It's not a building that people go into.

Every month, everybody gets together. Every two months, everybody gets together. I think the problem is, especially for young people who aren't established at work and really can be profoundly lonely, who need to build friends, need to build networks, if they're working from home, There's many times, I think, where the company isn't an office. It's not a building that people go into.

Every month, everybody gets together. Every two months, everybody gets together. I think the problem is, especially for young people who aren't established at work and really can be profoundly lonely, who need to build friends, need to build networks, if they're working from home, There's many times, I think, where the company isn't an office. It's not a building that people go into.

The company is a group chat that happens to issue a W-2 statement every January. That's a very different phenomenon. And we should just be honest with ourselves when we're reckoning with what are the benefits of, the real benefits of, and what are the costs of, the real costs of spending so much time working hard. at home alone.

The company is a group chat that happens to issue a W-2 statement every January. That's a very different phenomenon. And we should just be honest with ourselves when we're reckoning with what are the benefits of, the real benefits of, and what are the costs of, the real costs of spending so much time working hard. at home alone.

The company is a group chat that happens to issue a W-2 statement every January. That's a very different phenomenon. And we should just be honest with ourselves when we're reckoning with what are the benefits of, the real benefits of, and what are the costs of, the real costs of spending so much time working hard. at home alone.

I'm researching for a piece about this right now. I think it's really interesting to think about a kind of life cycle interpretation of the antisocial century. And here's what I mean by that. Different data sources suggest all of the following.

I'm researching for a piece about this right now. I think it's really interesting to think about a kind of life cycle interpretation of the antisocial century. And here's what I mean by that. Different data sources suggest all of the following.

I'm researching for a piece about this right now. I think it's really interesting to think about a kind of life cycle interpretation of the antisocial century. And here's what I mean by that. Different data sources suggest all of the following.

that teens have fewer friends than they used to, that high schoolers hang out with their friends less than they used to, that 20-somethings are less likely to date than they used to be, less likely to have sex than they used to have as well, that 30-somethings are less likely to get married than they used to be, and that 40-somethings are less likely to have children in their household than they used to be.

that teens have fewer friends than they used to, that high schoolers hang out with their friends less than they used to, that 20-somethings are less likely to date than they used to be, less likely to have sex than they used to have as well, that 30-somethings are less likely to get married than they used to be, and that 40-somethings are less likely to have children in their household than they used to be.

that teens have fewer friends than they used to, that high schoolers hang out with their friends less than they used to, that 20-somethings are less likely to date than they used to be, less likely to have sex than they used to have as well, that 30-somethings are less likely to get married than they used to be, and that 40-somethings are less likely to have children in their household than they used to be.

And so these are different trends. And I don't want to suggest that all of these things are somehow caused by one thing, like the television or the smartphone, but they're all happening at the same time. It's every station of human relationship that's in simultaneous decline. And that's really fascinating and troubling.

And so these are different trends. And I don't want to suggest that all of these things are somehow caused by one thing, like the television or the smartphone, but they're all happening at the same time. It's every station of human relationship that's in simultaneous decline. And that's really fascinating and troubling.

And so these are different trends. And I don't want to suggest that all of these things are somehow caused by one thing, like the television or the smartphone, but they're all happening at the same time. It's every station of human relationship that's in simultaneous decline. And that's really fascinating and troubling.

Yeah, I do think that sometimes I am guilty of talking about these phenomena as if they're exclusively about digital technology and our inner world of our emotional need for private time or other people. But just as important as changes to the inner life of Americans, I think, are changes to the external world of America.

Yeah, I do think that sometimes I am guilty of talking about these phenomena as if they're exclusively about digital technology and our inner world of our emotional need for private time or other people. But just as important as changes to the inner life of Americans, I think, are changes to the external world of America.

Yeah, I do think that sometimes I am guilty of talking about these phenomena as if they're exclusively about digital technology and our inner world of our emotional need for private time or other people. But just as important as changes to the inner life of Americans, I think, are changes to the external world of America.

Between the early 1900s and 1950, we built a ton of what the sociologist Eric Kleinberg calls social infrastructure. We built library branches and community centers and public pools, and we built places for people to spend time outside of their home and their work. In the last 50, 70 years, we haven't built nearly as much of this stuff.

Between the early 1900s and 1950, we built a ton of what the sociologist Eric Kleinberg calls social infrastructure. We built library branches and community centers and public pools, and we built places for people to spend time outside of their home and their work. In the last 50, 70 years, we haven't built nearly as much of this stuff.