A mericans are reading less, sleeping less and partying less. We have fewer marriages, fewer children and fewer friends than we used to. Our children are doing worse in school.

These are complicated phenomena on some level, but on another level it’s pretty simple: Smartphones, social media and the internet are transforming our lives and our culture in ways that are not all for the best. Streaming video is ubiquitous, and some of the smartest people in the world have developed powerful recommendation engines to ensure that we always have an unlimited supply of customized content. Technological progress has, in effect, supercharged television, and as a result people are passively watching more and actively doing less.

Yet rather than saying straightforwardly that this is an unhealthy tren

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