Generation Uncoupled:
America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection
A sweeping and empathetic portrait of the new gender divide, from a top pollster and cultural commentator—with key insights into what the gap means for the future of relationships, family life, and democracy.
“Cox’s study offers a compassionate, clear-eyed view of civic breakdown and practical solutions to end social atomization. Essential reading for those seeking to help younger generations heal the gender divisions that have fractured them.”
Preorder from
What People Are Saying
“In this well-written book, Daniel Cox combines creative empirical research with thoughtful reflections about where this relational crisis is leading and what we should do about it. Regardless of your politics, if you’re concerned about the future of America—and who isn’t? — this book is a must-read.”
Robert D. Putnam, Professor Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School, bestselling author of Bowling Alone
“With a wealth of data and deft touch of a highly trained social scientist, Daniel Cox describes in careful detail the social atomization of modern America. But beyond that, he also offers a pathway forward that focuses on curiosity, kindness, and a real desire to cultivate community again. Generation Uncoupled is essential reading to understand how we got into this mess and what it will take to get us out of it.”
Ryan Burge, Professor of Practice, John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University
“The history of humanity has been one of people coming together, creating families, and shaping the next generation. How did we get to a place where young people are turning away from that project? From the political divides disrupting dating lives, the cultural expectations weighing on parents, and the technologies warping our sense of reality, Daniel Cox examines how we arrived here and what it might take to fix it.”
Kristen Soltis Anderson, founding partner of Echelon Insights and author of The Selfie Vote
Speaking Schedule
October 14, 2026
American Enterprise Institute
Washington, DC
October 29, 2026
Politics & Prose
Washington, DC
November 9, 2026
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Generation Uncoupled in the News
American Storylines
A Generation Uncoupled
Without going into too much detail, here is what I can tell you about the book. Generation Uncoupled...
Vox
It's not your imagination — dating has gotten way more combative lately
“There’s a growing discomfort with the normal friction, that if you say or do the wrong thing, it’s cringe, it’s disqualifiable; there’s no appetite for any kind of misstep,” Daniel Cox, the director of the Survey Center on American Life and author of Generation Uncoupled: America’s New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection, told Vox.
The New York Times
‘Attention Infidelity’ Is Ruining Romance
From the pollster and public opinion researcher Daniel Cox’s forthcoming book, “Generation Uncoupled: America’s New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection,” I learned a new term: “attention infidelity.” Cox defines it in a somewhat unusual and expansive way: when a partner’s digital life intrudes on an in-person connection.
New York Post
Gen Z thinks they’re so special, they can’t even deal with romantic relationships
Cox, who is director of the Survey Center on American Life, has a treasure trove of data to back up his point, and the surveys make clear that young people simply aren’t prioritizing relationships and partnership as previous generations once did.
Derek Thompson
Why Americans Stopped Falling in Love
If the decline of coupling is upstream of both falling births and falling happiness, then the most important question is what’s happening at the source. In his new book Generation Uncoupled, Daniel Cox, a public opinion researcher and director of the Survey Center on American Life, considers a range of causes that span technology, culture, media, economics, and politics. In today’s interview, we talk about all of that.
