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What do you make of folks that live in rural, isolated areas backing Trump more? And folks that live closer to their neighbors backing Harris?

Check out men's work communities like The ManKind Project to support your reversal. These communities are not to be confused with men's rights organizations, which are poison.

Do not care. There are a lot of us who are perfectly happy being alone or just around immediate family. Stop creating bullshit crises.

TL:DR version. Derek thinks lack of Christianity is the problem and offers a ton of bullshit statistics to try and prove that.

(The more I read, the more confident I am that you are related to someone high up at the Atlantic) “If the level of drug related deaths had remained flat…” Yep. And if my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bicycle. Any other “genius” insights for us?

Great article. Thank you.

Neededness was a great insight,there is a lot to that. Friends,in their 60s,that HATE cash,hate shopping in stores.Then stores have no product.Its a vicious loop towards disconnection,which requires a bit more inconvenience,which humans seem to be strongly against.They just want to get back to TV.

Derek this is what out of touch looks like, you big weirdo bsky.app/profile/bmig...

Derek this misunderstands so much, you clearly didn't try to understand the subject on both sides, just regurgitated nonsense that doesn't investigate half the country's opposition to Trump. This is terrible journalism that only speaks to one side and you should not at all be proud of it.

There’s some good stuff in there, but the lawn sign bit was really dumb. If someone has a Harris lawn sign it means they support Harris. It doesn’t mean they aren’t aware that Trump voters exist. You’d never describe 2020 Trump voters as “out of touch”, would you? Spoiled an otherwise decent article

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I feel like you're out of touch with the average Harris voter

It’s the same tedious shtick where the world’s richest man and a former president aren’t “elites” but random public school teachers and college students are

The author got some things wrong or incomplete. Given the length, I'm not surprised. Still, I appreciate the keen insights I received from the other 98% of the article.

if i have to hear one more insulated beltway fucko whine about A Critical Epidemic Of Loneliness i am gonna have a full fucking limit break bar to Summon Luigi

Yes, he did, it's in a long section in the middle of this long article called "This Is Your Politics on Solitude". You may disagree with some, or all, of his conclusions, or think he goes easy on the MAGAs, but he certainly didn't ignore the topic.

Fantastic article. You have done Richard Reeves and Jonathan Haidt proud.

Good column. I consider myself pretty introverted and should question the idea that i was destined to be this way. It would be interesting to see how time alone changed among self described intro- vs extroverts since 2010

Putting up a sign is about MY values and who I support, not some weird statement on others. I know why people like Trump, I get told I must go out of my way to understand them each election. Why are they never told the same? Is it truly my problem if I had more faith in people?

Outstanding and important article. Well done.

why would you be proud of continuing to parrot the narrative that right-wingers have no obligation to listen to their neighbors

Fantastic piece. Thank you for writing it. I'm going to have my medical students read it.

What a load of crap.

If this is what makes you proud, I really have to wonder what makes you ashamed.

I can tell you in two words why I avoided outings in the USA: Expensive and Guns. Also hostile to older people. As a US citizen, I moved to Mexico, made friends (with my limited Spanish) almost every weekend I'm out with one or more to hear music, lots of free entertainment here, good food & drink.

Great article; in ref to your opening I’d note in my neighborhood we have a restaurant with bar seating where I and others have made many friends with our neighbors. It’s been wonderful to live in a village — in this case the West Village of NYC! Knowing your neighbors does make a difference.

You're proud of this? I'd hate to see the stuff you're less proud of!

This.

"bowling alone" did it better two decades ago and it's incredible that for you this is somehow a one-sided issue

I don't know how it was in US but when I was old enough to work ie in the late 1960s workplaces were more sociable too, even if only company canteens, or going out together for food. Many now skip meals or eat at their desk. Companies discourage breaks so no real chance to get to know colleagues

Why are you proud of something that's sucks so much?

Oooh. So roasted.

If you're proud of that dogshit, you're dumber than we thought. Trump's vote in 2024 was less than 4% higher than it was in 2020. Characterizing that as a great swell in support is laughable. Crucially, only 63.88% of eligible voters participated. Trump's votes comprised 31.6% of eligible voters.

This is the shoddiest, laziest, shallowest, most amoral piece of claptrap I’ve read this week, and that’s saying a lot.

Great piece by Derek Thompson: "In 1970, just 6 percent of sixth graders had a TV set in their bedroom; in 1999, that proportion had grown to 77 percent..." Walking home today I was struck by toddlers in strollers not taking in the world around them. Almost all looked at screens in their hands.

Plurality, not majority of voters…

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You are projecting your own bubble of generic hack smug punditry and would never dream of directing the same argument against the party that had lost an unprecedented 7/8 Presidential popular votes.

I’ll read it. I’m a big believer that our society is being dismantled by social media. It may in the surface seem that we are all more “connected” via the internet but in reality it seems as if we’ve become more isolated and alone.

Trump's appeal is easy to understand. He openly panders to bigots, religious nuts and conspiracy cranks. That's his appeal. If you can call manipulating stupid people "appeal."

This also has financial implications — social isolation fundamentally changes spending patterns, investment decisions, and risk tolerance. When we lack regular social contact, we tend to make financial decisions in an echo chamber of our own biases.

People like you are why journalism is functionally dead in America. Find other work, or go starve in the streets. Personally I couldn’t give a fuck what you choose. Your rag, like most of MSM is dead to me.

Wait, so if more Americans embrace fascism, I'm out of touch when I say fascism is bad? Who knew!

Why are you proud of this?

Great article. I've been concerned about the isolation our technology creates and it's effect on communities for quite some time. Even bought another copy of "Bowling Alone" about a year ago with the intent of reading it again but it's still in my stack.

Fabulous, thought-provoking piece (and frankly if the replies are any indication of what discourse on Bluesky is like, yikes!). I did have a question, tho. Is there any socialization data by geography? Presumable urban dwellers are far more social but there must be an interesting threshold there.

that Harris/Waltz was the obvious choice "In THIS house". Not in my window but on a lot of lawns the Harris/Waltz sign literally was in the grass next to the "In THIS House" sign or in the lawn while a rainbow flag flew from the porch. Your take is bad.

Racists and transphobes are real Americans but the rest of us aren't, got it. Idiot.

bsky.app/profile/dave...

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You’re really proud of a pile of dogshit?

Social media is awash in right wing voices. The establishment media consistently features right wing politicians and pundits. This bubble you posit doesn't exist.

this article is so good. sure, i read it on my phone with my office door closed while eating lunch in solitude. but idk maybe i'll leave my door open tomorrow

A "majority of voters rejected" Trump, as well. A majority of voters rejected Trump three straight times, in fact.

Sure, you may have decided that a candidate who isn't a convicted felon and didn't try to overthrow an elected government is the obvious choice, but have you run that past your neighbors? Did you get their permission? Did you get it in a diner, did you get it at a movie, in a box, with a fox? wild

It's the smugness of the "obviously" he's commenting on not that it's a Harris Walz sign

It’s him ignoring “I don’t want to be the focus of violence from Trumpers because of my Harris sign”

I spend 95 percent of my life alone and sometimes I wish it were more.

Amazing what happens when a R wins vs when a D wins. Media ecosystem is effed up.

Liking to read later. Just subscribed to @theatlantic.com

A majority of Americans have chosen to disengage entirely while a small but very vocal minority has convinced tools like you that THEIR view is a majority view and the OTHER political minority is the one out of touch with the disaffected majority. And you're proud of this dreck you spewed WHY?

Stop the steal??? Stop the fucking insanity. Goddamnit. We- every screaming liberal, every angry progressive, every outraged former Republican- were right. About everything. Fuck you Atlantic; I lined my cat box with the last issue I received and canceled my sub last year.

This is a good way of putting it

I think some of it is that but mostly it’s with everyone home nobody is at the Perkins or at the mall or whatever so why would you go?

I go to (progressive LGBT loving) church, and once a week we have a coworking/hangout day, where you can just sit and do whatever and drink coffee, read, sometimes a dog comes along, work,etc, not religious at all. Trying to create one of those spaces. It's such a great idea.

My god I’m so sick of this shit. Who pays these people and why?

She lost by 1.5%.

Thank you for that. Great article.

You ignore this by suggesting that aloneness made Democrats misunderstand their neighbor, as if they are the ones being anti-social and not MAGA? What is more antisocial politics than threatening to annex your neighbor? Did that even occur to you once when you wrote this?

This is like a three-year-old proud of being able to tinkle by themselves

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Very nice piece, Derek, with some very good facts about American culture. Perhaps we haven't adapted well to rapid change. We spend more time confirming our beliefs than examining their weaknesses. Social media magnifies that. How much time did you spend exploring what you might have got wrong?

This is actual, literal garbage, dude. Who even are you people?

Just because more people went Nazi than I would like, does not make me out of touch for thinking that the choice in 2024 was actually obvious. Voters got it wrong, not for the first (or last) time.

This was an incredible piece of work, Derek. And I deeply enjoyed your spot on the Bulwark Podcast today

Riiiight, because Republicans definitely aren't isolated (by choice or not) and untethered from reality - no, it's those pesky progressives

Maybe you should find something else to be proud of

You absolutely should not be proud of this.

This is definitely one of your worst articles. Yikes. Are you okay?

The magazine of rage-baiting contrarianism strikes again

Why do I need to understand Trump's appeal? I'm not a journalist. I'm just a regular voter. I didn't vote for the fascist. Why do I need to apologize for that?

You should read and then respond to the comments about your article.

Really fine article. You Should be proud! I'm appalled by the many churlish comments here. That your piece triggered so much vitriol is a sad reflection of these perilous times. No opportunity lost to bash. I suspect most of these soreheads were too busy grinding their axes to read your piece.

Derek- You really shouldn’t be proud. You make assumptions about nearly half the electorate that just aren’t true. Lazy and insulting

I can’t believe you’re proud of this garbage. You’re like a three-year-old that walks out of the bathroom holding a pile of shit that you think is the Hope diamond Please, find another line of work. If you stay a writer, maybe have someone else critique your drivel before publishing it

Congrats on literally writing this comic strip into essay form.

you shouldn't be

I hate it when writers accuse amorphous groups for their own faults. This article is pure projection.

Proud?! 😳 Yikes!

Everybody I talked to or followed in politics knew this was going to be a close election. Blame your own bubble or, even better, the MAGA idiots that think the last election was stolen or think Trump will lower the price of eggs.

Were you drunk when you wrote this Derek

Great. Next month when the fascists you so wholeheartedly support start their rampage I’ll look forward to your endless blathering about how it’s our fault. You’re a tool, you’ve always been a tool, and you’ll always be one You fucking tool.

Or just watch the movie Thelma. America hates its elderly and tosses them in homes to be managed til they die.

I looked up Richard Reeves and while he seems focused on male issues, what's wrong with having a specialty. I probably missed something, but I'd like to know. At any rate the brunt of the article is about people being isolated not men per se. I myself see the problem as internet and phone addiction.

@gtconway.bsky.social I think I found an article that describes #Trump impeccably. londondaily.com/british-writ...

That sounds about right 🫣

It's bonkers that this original essay appeared in the Atlantic, cannot imagine them bearing with such inarguable truth at this point.

Oh thank goodness, you managed to blame the progressives for Trump‘s victory. Clearly it’s not the Trumper‘s who are socially disconnected. Brilliant.

it's fucking trash

I read every word of it. Now I'm running late on all my other solitary social media reading.