American Life Blog
November 23, 2020
The Benefits of Going to a Place “Where Everyone Knows Your Name”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these community spaces look a little different right now. Coffee shops, restaurants, and parks have more importance than ever in connecting us to our community and to the world outside our homes. Continue Reading →
November 13, 2020
Biden’s Message of Unity is Welcomed by Most Americans
Biden’s desire to move past the divisiveness that has marked the Trump presidency, the question that follows is simple: Are Americans actually open to working with others and trying to find the middle ground? Continue Reading →
November 9, 2020
The 2020 Election Was Not Primarily About Trump As a Person
Biden will have the challenge of finding common ground with all Americans, but Biden already took the right steps when he declared in his acceptance speech that “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.” Continue Reading →
November 6, 2020
The 2020 Religion Vote
Religious voters lined up behind their preferred candidates in familiar ways in the 2020 presidential election, but there were some notable shifts. Continue Reading →
October 27, 2020
Our Media Bubbles Reflect a Larger Problem of Political Segregation
A new study finds Republican trust in conservative media outlets is closely tied to the political composition of their friendship network. Continue Reading →
October 21, 2020
Don’t Believe the Trump Hype: Who is Actually Protesting in 2020
Even with COVID-19 dominating the news and people being asked to stay home and social distance, Americans are leaving their homes to protest the state of the nation ahead of the November Presidential election. Continue Reading →
October 7, 2020
For Republicans, Abortion Attitudes Differ Depending on the Composition of Their Social Circle
Although abortion attitudes are highly polarized between the two parties and the issue remains contentious, among Republicans, views vary depending on their political networks. Continue Reading →
September 30, 2020
Democrats and Republicans Believe Their Opponents’ Policies Threaten the National Interest
Lost amid the rhetorical brinksmanship in the fight to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recently passed after battling pancreatic cancer, is the reason Republicans believe this particular fight is necessary and why Democrats are unlikely to take a measured response. Continue Reading →
May 8, 2020
More Americans see Trump as Conservative
No one should underestimate Trump’s chances this year — in fact, before the coronavirus outbreak most Americans said he was likely to be reelected. Continue Reading →
April 16, 2020
The Urban-Rural Divide Over the Coronavirus Outbreak
Despite clear partisan gaps in views about the coronavirus outbreak, where Americans live is shaping how they respond to it. Continue Reading →
Generation Uncoupled
Generation Uncoupled: America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection
Buy NowSurvey Reports
Daniel A. Cox
July 23, 2026
A Digital Divide in American Adolescence: Gender, Class, and the New Teenage Experience
If teenage years once represented a time of rebellion, teenagers’ lives today are marked less by pushing boundaries and more by building their own. Many teenage experiences are less common than they once were—dating, working a part-time job, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are less common experiences. The 2026 American Teenagers Survey from the Continue Reading →
Daniel A. Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields
April 27, 2026
Strangers Next Door: The Decline of Neighborhood Socializing and the Class Divide in Belonging
Acknowledgment The American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life is grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its generous support of this research. As Americans spend more of their time online, the neighborhood—once a primary physical location for real-world socialization—is playing less of a central role than ever before. Since Continue Reading →
In the News
September 11, 2026 Deseret News
Perspective: What ‘never forget’ means 25 years later
September 10, 2026 The Cut
My Boyfriend Is My Only Friend
September 9, 2026 The Hill
Elections won’t fix America’s political divisions
September 6, 2026 HuffPost









