#477: The Anti-Social Century
Articles on self-imposed solitude, homeschooling, and the decline of public reading
Last week’s issue prompted strong emotions. Thank you for reading it and reaching out with your reactions. Several of you said that the lead article made you cry. Many of you signed up for our online discussion on Jan. 26 and for our in-person gathering on Jan. 30. Your kind words and engagement reminded me of the power of reading in community and the joy of connecting with other thoughtful people.
Unfortunately, this kind of engagement is not happening in all corners of our country. Ever since the pandemic (and likely farther back), we’ve retreated significantly from social life. All of a sudden, everyone’s an introvert. (I blame Susan Cain.) We’re lonely. We’re disconnected. We’re cocooning.
That’s why I deeply appreciated today’s lead article, “The Anti-Social Century,” by Derek Thompson. It’s well-reported, well-researched, and well-written, and I encourage you to read it. If you prefer shorter pieces, feel free to scroll down, where you’ll find two additional articles and a mini-podcast related to this week’s theme. They’re about:
the rise of homeschooling (despite criticism that it hurts kids’ socialization)
the decline of public reading (and the death of local journalism)
my and Melinda’s first thoughts on this month’s article (and our pitch for you to join us at our discussion on Jan. 26)
Hope you appreciate this week’s articles and mini-podcast. As always, if you appreciate an article, I’d love to hear from you (by email or in the comments below). Or if you prefer, show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (like Fern) or buying me a coffee (like Doug). I would be very grateful.
1️⃣ The Anti-Social Century
Nobody wants to do anything anymore. Loneliness is on the rise. Everyone’s an introvert all of a sudden. We care more about our phones than our friends. Pets are popular because they offer us one more excuse to avoid people.
For years now, you and I have bemoaned this decline in American social life. I know it’s been on your mind because last year’s most-read article in this newsletter was “The Friendship Problem,” by Rosie Spinks. And certainly it’s been on my mind, too — in the many conversations I‘ve had with my partner, and in the many articles I’ve read.
Up until this outstanding article, however, I hadn’t read a comprehensive look at this trend toward mass solitude. Journalist Derek Thompson certainly does his legwork here. There are many startling facts and disturbing graphs. There’s history. There are discussions of technology and phones and artificial intelligence. Most importantly, Mr. Thompson explores the negative impacts of solitude, but he also maintains that changes in our culture are not inevitable.
This piece is worth your time. It’s not comprehensive, of course, and you won’t agree with all of Mr. Thompson’s claims. But you’ll appreciate having read it, and you’ll have something to talk about with your friends when you finally decide to go outside.
By Derek Thompson • The Atlantic • 30 min • Gift Link
2️⃣ The Homeschooling Option
About a year ago, I featured an article that criticized the social and educational benefits of homeschooling. Thoughtful readers reached out to encourage me to rethink my position. I appreciated our conversations. Since then, I’ve sought out various perspectives on homeschooling that might push my thinking.
This article by is one of those pieces. Writer Casey Kleczek first establishes that the homeschooling trend continues to skyrocket, especially among Black families, where the rate has increased five-fold since 2020. In other words, homeschooling is not a passing fad, and it’s not limited to white or hippie or Christian families.
What I liked most about this article is that it’s a wake-up call for traditional schools. Five years ago, as we suffered through the pandemic, educational visionaries promised that schools would transform once we got to the other side. But not much has changed. Ms. Kleczek writes that many Black and Brown parents never stopped wondering “why they were sending their children to a place for eight horus a day when they were still not doing well.” One parent said, “If nobody else can do this for my child, I can do this for my child.”
By Casey Kleczek • Plough • 11 min • Gift Link
3️⃣ The Loss of Public News Racks in San Francisco
Nobody is reading print newspapers anymore. It makes sense, then, that public news racks are disappearing as well. Like payphones, another extinct artifact from the analog age, news racks were never beautiful. Some found them to be an eyesore, a blight on the urban aesthetic. But the total removal of news racks — as the City of San Francisco will complete within 60 days — is a distinct and not-insignificant cultural loss. It means the end of randomly grabbing the neighborhood newspaper on your walk to work. It means that your elderly neighbor stops reading her beloved Chronicle after 60 years. It means the shuttering of more local publications and less accountability of local government. And it means the inexorable decline of physical manifestations of reading in the world. Pretty soon, if anyone is reading, we might not know it, and certainly our kids won’t know it, since any reading that we’re doing will be hidden away behind the privacy of our personal devices.
By Julia Gitis • Mission Local • 7 min • Gift Link
4️⃣ Our First Thoughts: “Someone Else’s Daughter”
This month, we’re discussing “Someone Else’s Daughter,” a poignant story about two families whose lives turn upside down after finding out the babies they gave birth to aren’t actually their genetic children.
Already, we have 19 people who have signed up to join our discussion on January 26 at 2 pm PT. There are five slots left. This article is a deep and thought-provoking one, so if you are interested in talking about it with other kind, thoughtful people, I highly recommend that you take the plunge. It’d be great to see you there.
A couple days ago, Article Club co-host Melinda and I met up to discuss our first impressions of the article. It’s like the-discussion-before-the-discussion! We hope you take a listen. In addition to our usual banter, we have a little surprise feature for listeners — which I suppose is no longer a surprise.
Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀
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