Anti-Social Age

Notes on Derek Thompson's Essay for The Atlantic

Each one pushed open the door, walked to the counter, picked up a bag from the bar, and left. In the delicate choreography between kitchen and customer, not a word was exchanged. The space once reserved for that most garrulous social encounter, the bar hangout, had been reconfigured into a silent depot for customers to grab food to eat at home.

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

Socialization giving way to convenience

But convenience can be a curse. Our habits are creating what Atalay has called a “century of solitude.” This is the anti-social century.

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

The tyranny of convenience emerges again.

In 2022—notably, after the pandemic had abated—adults spent an additional 99 minutes at home on any given day compared with 2003.

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

We are in the home even more

Epley sees the exponential growth of AI companions as a real possibility. “You can set them up to never criticize you, never cheat on you, never have a bad day and insult you, and to always be interested in you.” Unlike the most patient spouses, they could tell us that we’re always right. Unlike the world’s best friend, they could instantly respond... See more

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

Frictionless everything is another manifestation of the tyranny of convenience.

Convenience becomes more appealing as the bigger stuff in life (career, health, etc) become harder. That’s why it is an inverted function…the more difficult the big things are, the more appealing convenience and frictionless in everything else becomes.

In the 1960s, Irwin Altman, a psychologist at the Naval Medical Research Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, co-developed a friendship formula characterized by increasing intimacy.

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

Some of this screen time is social, after a fashion. But sharing videos or texting friends is a pale imitation of face-to-face interaction

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

I think this argument/line of reasoning is not really explored well. Why is it obvious that it pales?

But one source of Trump’s success may be that he is an avatar of the all-tribe, no-village style of performative confrontation. He stokes out-group animosity, and speaks to voters who are furiously intolerant of political difference.

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

According to data gathered by the online reservations platform OpenTable, solo dining has increased by 29 percent in just the past two years. The No. 1 reason is the need for more “me time.”

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

Solo dining from outlier to trend

“social interaction is not very uncertain, because of the principle of reciprocity. If you say hello to someone, they’ll typically say hello back to you. If you give somebody a compliment, they’ll typically say thank you.” Many people, it seems, are not social enough for their own good. They too often seek comfort in solitude, when they would actua... See more

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

But some participants seemed drawn to any conspiracy theory so long as it was intended to destroy the established order. Members of this cohort commonly harbored racial or economic grievances. Perhaps more important, Petersen said, they tended to feel socially isolated. These aggravated loners agreed with many dark pronouncements, such as “I need c... See more

Derek Thompson • The Anti-Social Century

Anti-establishment emergence