Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out
As we saw earlier, young people have increasingly spent more time online and less time with each other in person, which may be one reason why depression, unhappiness, and loneliness rose. If liberal teens spent less time socializing in person and more time on social media than conservative teens, that might explain why their mental health suffered
... See moreJean M. Twenge • Generations
Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.
Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century
Something clearly went wrong in the lives of teens around 2012, and among young adults soon after. The question is: What was it?
Jean M. Twenge • Generations
Of course, smartphones, by themselves, don’t force you to stop hanging out in person. But there are several reasons they reduce it. First, they’re a distraction — the rise of smartphones was also the rise of “ phubbing ”, i.e. when people go on their phones instead of paying attention to the people around them. Second, phones provide a behavioral
... See moreNoah Smith • Honestly, it's probably the phones
