With how fast-paced society has become, individuals have lost their sense of comfortability with others and I believe it is our duty to try and reconnect individuals back to the importance of engaging in civic and political lives with one another for the sake of a better future. Let’s look at Thomas Lutz’ facebook articles. He presents an example of how to adapt to private individualism through technology, a factor that Marcella Ray discusses in her article “Technological Change and Associational Life” to be a cause of private individualism, but how it can also be a new way of facilitating civic and political engagement (297). Lutz has created a way of making individuals feel comfortable enough through technology to engage in political debates with others. Such activity can motivate individuals to return to appreciate connecting with others.

The internet can serve as a way for individuals to seek civic and political information, and participate with others over current issues. Marcella Ray discusses how today, individuals have the ability to choose whether to detach themselves from civic and political matters , which has contributed to the issue of private individualism (312). However, by the means of technology, activists can draw individuals back into associational life. Thomas Lutz demonstrates how the internet can serve as a new frontier of associational life, creating political activity for individuals to come together again. Technology is something that is embedded in everyday life, it can help alleviate private individualism and promote public activities for an ever more enduring associational life. We must adapt to private individualism by creating new means of satisfying civic and political interests of different individuals, and technology can gradually help bring individuals together to new forms of associational life.

References:
Skocpol, Theda, and Morris P. Fiorina. Civic Engagement in American Democracy. 1st. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 1999. 1-514. Print.

I say all that to shed light on the Private Individualism mentioned in this posted article. I often get comments in my inbox or private emails from someone who happened to read my Facebook posts and comments. I find that the reason I get these private messages is because that person didn’t want to broadcast their views on the subject. They feel comfortable telling me that they agree with the viewpoints I express, but maybe they aren’t as versed in political lingo, (not that I am), that they’ll post their comments on their own. This is a prime example of the Private Individualism that I have experienced firsthand.

I believe that people are too busy to sit down and read-up on political happenings or too busy to figure out what candidates are supporting what view points, beyond the sound-bites they hear or comments they read. So they’ll be more likely to agree with and vote for which ever candidate their close friends and family support. This lack of political knowledge is what I related to your “political withdrawal” term. I think that because they only get those sound-bites, they know they’re missing the full story and cannot confidently put forth their views. In this ‘go-go-go’ society we live in, politics is different; it takes time to read viewpoints and understand what is going on in the political arena. This seems to be the mentality that you have found in your surveys – people are more likely to share their views with like-minded people. Rather than present an opinion and support that opinion with substantive arguments, it is easier to message someone in private to let them know you agree with their views. I to, have found that politics has become a quiet, personal expression to a select group of friends and family.