A Generation Uncoupled
My new book is coming out this fall
The book that I’ve spent the last year and a half researching and writing is finally off to production. There are still plenty of edits to make, but most of the work is done. Generation Uncoupled is going to be released before the midterm elections this fall, and I cannot wait to talk about it and share more in the coming months.
Without going into too much detail, here is what I can tell you about the book. Generation Uncoupled...
1. Features lots of fascinating new polling research that I am confident you will not have seen anywhere else.
2. Is based on over one hundred hours of conversations—focus groups and in-depth interviews—with young men and women about sex, pornography, politics, ghosting, loneliness, social media, and friendship.
3. Has lots of charts! I don’t only rely on our research at the Survey Center, but polling from a variety of research organizations, such as Pew, Gallup, and others.
4. Is about more than dating and sex. Not that these things are unimportant – I talk about them at length! – but the book explores much broader social and cultural terrain. I wanted to understand how our culture of individualism, the waning importance of formative institutions (such as religion and the family), and the rapid rise of social media have reshaped the contours of social and romantic relationships. It’s an exploration of the way we connect with each other and what happens when we fail to do so.
5. Will likely elicit both emphatic agreement and pointed criticism – perhaps even within the same sentence. From the outset, I wanted to tell both sides of the story concurrently and critically. It is an even-handed approach to a subject that so easily devolves into finger-pointing and blaming. It means treating every personal story and perspective with respect and consideration.
6. Is ultimately hopeful. There are lots of reasons to be cynical about the state of American social and romantic life, but things are not irrevocably broken. Our biggest enemy is apathy and withdrawal.
How it Started
Every book has an origin story. If I were to pinpoint a moment, it would be the publication of a 2022 American Storylines newsletter, “The Political Gender Gap is Exploding.” The piece was based on 20 years of Gallup surveys, and it documented the growing ideological divide between young men and women that first appeared around 2016. Even in the early days of this newsletter, that post garnered considerable attention. Since then, it has appeared in a slew of news articles, including this Financial Times piece by John Burn-Murdoch that went absolutely viral. In fact, this one chart received so much attention that Gallup decided to do their own write-up on it. But this was just the beginning.
Once we started to look more closely look at the attitudes and experiences of young men and women, the more it appeared that what I had initially thought was a political divide was something much broader. In our polling, we began documenting diverging views on #MeToo, feminism, gender roles, perceptions of discrimination, as well as dating experiences and expectations. Even when they are sitting in class together, boys and girls are often living in completely different worlds. In short, the divide is relational. It’s how young men and women see each other – or fail to – and how our culture and technology can make things worse.
Public opinion work is an iterative endeavor. Every poll raises at least as many questions as it answers. No matter how thorough, careful, and conscientious we are in constructing a poll, we almost always have a moment of regret about what in retrospect seems like an obvious omission: “Why didn’t we include this question?!” I think the same is true for a book. As much new research and analysis as I’ve crammed into this book, I’m certain it will provoke new questions and arguments as well. To me, that would be a sign of success.
Pre-Order Generation Uncoupled
The publication date for Generation Uncoupled is October 13th. The book is now available for pre-order, and as any author will tell you, these pre-sales are incredibly important to the success of the book. You can order it now in hardcover, Kindle and audiobook from Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes & Noble, Hudson Booksellers, Target, Walmart, and Bookshop.org.
For Paid Subscribers
For paid annual subscribers (and longtime monthly subscribers), as a token of my appreciation, I’ll be offering a complimentary copy of my book as soon as it’s available. If you’re interested, please just send a mailing address to the email below and specify if you would like it to be autographed or not.
To receive your free copy of Generation Uncoupled, please send your name and mailing address to: generationuncoupled@gmail.com
What’s Next?
I still have work to do on the book. I’m working through final edits and I’m starting to think about travel plans for the fall. I’ve already committed to a few places. I’m still very much a researcher, and as much as I enjoyed writing the book, I am looking forward to continuing my public opinion work at the Survey Center. We have so many exciting projects on deck. In the next few weeks, we’re going to release a major survey on American neighborhoods, specifically on the decline in neighbor-to-neighbor socializing, community conflicts, and the way politics influences our feelings about the people who live next door. After that, we have a unique survey of American teenagers (ages 13 to 17) that will explore social dynamics, family and friends, and online experiences. Following those two releases, we’re going to begin a major project on AI that will include a large national survey and focus groups to better understand the social and relational consequences as teenagers and young adults use chatbots for emotional support, personal advice, and entertainment.
That’s all to say, thank you all for your patience and continued interest in American Storylines as I’ve been putting time into the book project. Since I started this newsletter in 2021, I’ve successfully published new research every other week, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of regular newsletter writing. There’s so much more to come!