It (Still) Takes a Village
The Anti-Social Century by Derek Thompson
The Atlantic, January 8, 2025
Derek Thompson’s recent piece in The Atlantic, “The Anti-Social Century,” invites reflection and discussion among educators. Its compilation of data is powerful, revealing our dramatically amplified isolation in recent years. Portions of Thompson’s piece focus on adults, while others focus on young people, particularly children and teens. Essentially, Americans, especially young people, are spending far less time than ever with one another. Thompson describes how “self-imposed solitude” is “rewiring America’s civic and psychic identity” and synthesizes his research, saying, “The village is our best arena for practicing productive disagreement and compromise – in other words, democracy.” Surely schools are among these villages. In an increasingly “phonebound” and “homebound” age, Thompson’s article challenges us to maximize our unique potential to build connection, health, and citizenry. While, as Thompson describes, our self-imposed solitude is making society “weaker, meaner, and more delusional”, connection and community are the antidotes. How can schools, then, nurture healthier individuals in a healthier democracy?
