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 →

Photo of a group of friends posing together for a fun photo.

September 26, 2019

A loneliness epidemic? How marriage, religion, and mobility explain the generation gap in loneliness

Conventional wisdom holds that loneliness is a serious problem in America today. Yet data from the Survey on Community and Society (SCS) suggest that such characterizations of loneliness are overblown and possibly wrong. Continue Reading →

Photo of a house with a porch

May 20, 2019

The importance of place: Neighborhood amenities as a source of social connection and trust

Place matters. When given a choice, most people prefer to live close to the basics of community life—schools, stores, parks, and restaurants. Continue Reading →

May 20, 2019

Having a Library or Cafe Down the Block Could Change Your Life

Living near community-oriented public and commercial spaces brings a host of social benefits. People living in amenity-rich communities are much less likely to feel isolated from others. Continue Reading →

Generation Uncoupled

Generation Uncoupled book

Generation Uncoupled: America's New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection

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Survey 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 →