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Social Media and the Triumph of Extraverted Shallowness
Introspection isn’t to blame for the rise of parasocial relationships
In an article for The Atlantic, “The Anti-Social Century,” journalist Derek Thompson argues that “Self-imposed solitude might just be the most important social fact of the 21st century in America.”
Specifically, he says, “The privatization of American leisure is one part of a much bigger story. Americans are spending less time with other people than in any other period for which we have trustworthy data, going back to 1965.”
For example,
Eroding companionship can be seen in numerous odd and depressing facts of American life today. Men who watch television now spend seven hours in front of the TV for every hour they spend hanging out with somebody outside their home. The typical female pet owner spends more time actively engaged with her pet than she spends in face-to-face contact with friends of her own species.
The antisocial century
Thompson thinks the problem is that ‘Day to day, hour to hour, we are choosing this way of life — its comforts, its ready entertainments. But convenience can be a curse. Our habits are creating what Atalay has called a “century of solitude.” This is the anti-social…
