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Social scientists have identified at least three major forces that collectively bind together successful democracies: social capital (extensive social networks with high levels of trust), strong institutions, and shared stories. Social media has weakened all three. To see how, we must understand how social media changed over time—and especially in ... See more

Jonathan Haidt • Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid

Republican voters report the largest rise in self-suppression; Democratic voters are the most likely to report that they have retaliated against others.

Neil Howe • The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End

We talk a lot, both in broader conversation and specialied academic discussions about what the “public” believes and wants. The problem is that we cannot actually see the public directly, or even make out the beliefs and wants of the various micropublics (interest groups, parties, local organizations and the like) that are its constitutive parts. A... See more

The old Democratic party doesn't fit new media

He was an old-school fiscal Republican until the advent of cable news. Now he believes whatever Bill O’Reilly tells him to, though he gets a bit confused as to why.

David Sedaris • A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003-2020)

By 1956, the sociologist William H. Whyte saw a “decline of the Protestant ethic” and the rise of “the organization man,” for whom conformity was prized over initiative.

Micki McGee • Self-Help, Inc.: Makeover Culture in American Life

The Death (Again) of the Internet as We Know It

Noah Smith noahpinion.blog

the fact that online trolling is par for the mainstream cultural course.

Whitney Phillips • This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

Y]ou can’t throw a dart at the White House Correspondents Dinner without hitting someone who has been involved in quote approval, ground rule negotiation, source obfuscation—and every other routine thing that goes on every day, on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the equation,” Reines tells Wemple in the email. “And with all due respect, t

Sharyl Attkisson • The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote

The problem with Jones, then, isn’t that he was simply perceived as a con man or a lunatic. The problem was that he does a phenomenal job discrediting the evangelical left as legitimate and moral, and this is something that the Cathedral cannot bear.