Derek Thompson

They have financial capital where you can just look at someone's W-2 or tax returns and you can say, all right, well, Michael is rich and Nathan is poor. But there's also something that you can call social capital. Are you rich in relationships? Are you rich in friendship? Are you rich in the kind of community networks that you live in?

They have financial capital where you can just look at someone's W-2 or tax returns and you can say, all right, well, Michael is rich and Nathan is poor. But there's also something that you can call social capital. Are you rich in relationships? Are you rich in friendship? Are you rich in the kind of community networks that you live in?

And that's what Putnam was really scrutinizing is, is social capital for Americans declining? Can we say that social capital is declining for America the same way that we could say in a recession that income is declining for America? I'm trying to identify and pinpoint an even more specific and objective statistic

And that's what Putnam was really scrutinizing is, is social capital for Americans declining? Can we say that social capital is declining for America the same way that we could say in a recession that income is declining for America? I'm trying to identify and pinpoint an even more specific and objective statistic

And that's what Putnam was really scrutinizing is, is social capital for Americans declining? Can we say that social capital is declining for America the same way that we could say in a recession that income is declining for America? I'm trying to identify and pinpoint an even more specific and objective statistic

The American Time Use Survey, which is run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a government survey that every year asks Americans, how much time do you spend doing all the stuff you do? How much time do you spend eating dinner? How much time do you spend sleeping? How much time do you spend filling out greeting cards? And they also ask, how much time do you spend alone?

The American Time Use Survey, which is run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a government survey that every year asks Americans, how much time do you spend doing all the stuff you do? How much time do you spend eating dinner? How much time do you spend sleeping? How much time do you spend filling out greeting cards? And they also ask, how much time do you spend alone?

The American Time Use Survey, which is run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a government survey that every year asks Americans, how much time do you spend doing all the stuff you do? How much time do you spend eating dinner? How much time do you spend sleeping? How much time do you spend filling out greeting cards? And they also ask, how much time do you spend alone?

And how much time do you spend in face-to-face socializing? And those numbers are at their respective historic points, right? We've never spent so little time socializing face to face. We've never spent so much time alone. So what I felt I had here was an absolutely objective fact that I wanted to sort of dig into. What else can I discover that's truly historic about this moment?

And how much time do you spend in face-to-face socializing? And those numbers are at their respective historic points, right? We've never spent so little time socializing face to face. We've never spent so much time alone. So what I felt I had here was an absolutely objective fact that I wanted to sort of dig into. What else can I discover that's truly historic about this moment?

And how much time do you spend in face-to-face socializing? And those numbers are at their respective historic points, right? We've never spent so little time socializing face to face. We've never spent so much time alone. So what I felt I had here was an absolutely objective fact that I wanted to sort of dig into. What else can I discover that's truly historic about this moment?

And I mean, Tim, the statistics are just unbelievable. I mean, like the amount, for example, that people spend hosting dinner parties, for example, has declined by 30% in the last 20 years. I mean, it's just remarkable.

And I mean, Tim, the statistics are just unbelievable. I mean, like the amount, for example, that people spend hosting dinner parties, for example, has declined by 30% in the last 20 years. I mean, it's just remarkable.

And I mean, Tim, the statistics are just unbelievable. I mean, like the amount, for example, that people spend hosting dinner parties, for example, has declined by 30% in the last 20 years. I mean, it's just remarkable.

It's exactly right. It's an accumulating story. And there's a way to tell the story. You mentioned Postman and Putnam. There's a way to tell the story that's a technological story. And I don't think this is the only way to tell it, but I think it's a compelling way to tell it. You say the first half of the 20th century was really remarkably social. Marriage rates were up. Fertility went up.

It's exactly right. It's an accumulating story. And there's a way to tell the story. You mentioned Postman and Putnam. There's a way to tell the story that's a technological story. And I don't think this is the only way to tell it, but I think it's a compelling way to tell it. You say the first half of the 20th century was really remarkably social. Marriage rates were up. Fertility went up.

It's exactly right. It's an accumulating story. And there's a way to tell the story. You mentioned Postman and Putnam. There's a way to tell the story that's a technological story. And I don't think this is the only way to tell it, but I think it's a compelling way to tell it. You say the first half of the 20th century was really remarkably social. Marriage rates were up. Fertility went up.

Union rates were up. The amount of time that people spent socializing between the early 1900s and about 1950 was just up, up, up across the board. What happened then in the 1960s, 1970s? And the technological answer is that first we got the car. And cars are wonderful. Our family has two cars, right? I'm not criticizing cars as a product.

Union rates were up. The amount of time that people spent socializing between the early 1900s and about 1950 was just up, up, up across the board. What happened then in the 1960s, 1970s? And the technological answer is that first we got the car. And cars are wonderful. Our family has two cars, right? I'm not criticizing cars as a product.

Union rates were up. The amount of time that people spent socializing between the early 1900s and about 1950 was just up, up, up across the board. What happened then in the 1960s, 1970s? And the technological answer is that first we got the car. And cars are wonderful. Our family has two cars, right? I'm not criticizing cars as a product.