People are now more connected than ever

The stories about isolated American communities have become legendary over the past 20 years. Scholars and journalists have struggled with the combined effects of suburbanization and the digital economy in ways that fueled a pervasive sense of disorientation.

Much of this conversation has been driven by important historical works like “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs and “Crabgrass Frontier” by Kenneth Jackson. It has even animated an entire generation of popular films ranging from Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” to Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty” to Kevin Smith’s series of stories about Jay and Silent Bob.

None of the angst is surprising; it duplicates a generational anxiety that stretches back at least to the late 19th century. In short, communities are more connected today than they were in 2004. Indeed, they may be the most connected communities in human history.

In 2004, the Internet was in its infancy, while cable television was in its adolescence. MySpace was the most popular form of social media, and the AOL Time Warner merger was just beginning its catastrophic collapse. It was a moment still thoroughly shaped by the specter of global terrorism, yet it preceded the recovery of public skepticism about government that re-emerged the days following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Some consider this time “the Green Scare” — 2004 may prove to be its pinnacle. Unlike the two American “Red Scares” of the 20th century, the Green Scare successfully reduced the relevance of the federal government to the daily lives of most citizens by enforcing a social conformity through the fear of Islamic fundamentalism at home and expanding the reach and force of the American military empire in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the developing world more generally.

Families were less connected to each other because media technologies provided limitless opportunities for personal entertainment, and each individual had more access to more personal devices than ever before. Teenagers at this moment were the first to lose themselves in interactive cellphones, and a blissful, contented silence enveloped buses, trains and other public spaces.

Admittedly, it is not the face-to-face, interpersonal verbal communication that the “Greatest Generation” celebrates as the pinnacle of American society. However, the connections between family, extended family, friends, communities and neighborhoods have never been so intensely real.

Millions, if not billions, of people routinely share baby and pet videos that inspire laughter or produce tears. Increasingly, news is reported by eyewitnesses through Twitter and Instagram days before cable, broadcast or print outlets can verify the facts and produce standard reporting.

This overconnected environment simultaneously distracts and informs the largest, most attentive audiences ever created.

More importantly, the engagement of individuals in selecting what content they prefer has completely redefined the core media of the 20th century — advertising. In this context, public skepticism has moved beyond the federal government to global conglomerates and local authorities. This fundamental distrust of elected officials and billionaire investors reflects a broader acceptance of individual voices who value listening and interaction as the basis of a global, digital community. It was this energy that animated the two successful presidential campaigns by Barack Obama, but also fuels the disillusionment his leadership has encountered because his symbolic accomplishments will require at least a generation to transform the institutions he represents.

People are more connected today than anyone has ever been. New historical insights in works like “A Consumers’ Republic” or “Suburban Erasure” reveal the increasing complexity of the social environment that emerged at the end of the 20th century. Epic, multiplatform storytelling from “Harry Potter” to “The Avengers” to “Assassin’s Creed” reflect a new consciousness that rapidly moves viewers’ attention across vast scales of space and time in ways that were unimaginable before 1990.

In much the same ways that people born at the start of the 20th century could not imagine light bulbs, automobiles and radios, children born in the last decade will look back at tablets, online gaming, and skyscrapers as quaint relics of a blithely ignorant population. Imagine then what their grandchildren will think of them.

Dr. Walter Greason is an instructor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University.