Putnam believed that the single biggest risk factor was the growing amount of time people spent alone.
Even back when he wrote Bowling Alone —before smartphones and apps—teens were solitary for three-and-a-half hours per day. Adolescents spent more time alone than with their family.
For the first time in history, people were growing up... See more
Whenever we lie to kids to protect them, we're usually also lying to keep the peace.
One consequence of this sort of calming lie is that we grow up thinking horrible things are normal. It's hard for us to feel a sense of urgency as adults over something we've literally been trained not to worry about. When I was about 10 I saw a documentary on... See more