What do you guys think about the loss of social capital through
   atomization of society via tech?

   Trying to figure out the ways that atomization is being sold to the
   masses as a perk, like working from home, but where it actually makes
   it easier to control them

   Here's a section of the piece I'm working on.

   ##Atomization and Social Capital##

   The relationship between social atomization and social capital is
   something that hasn’t been so firmly established, if at all. Surely, at
   first glance they seem to be similar, almost exactly the same but
   they’re not. Atomization, in a sociological sense, is the breaking down
   of society into smaller pieces; in scientific terms to atomize
   something is to spray it, like gasoline into the cylinder of a car.
   Diffusion is a synonym to both uses.

   Social capital, though, is a much slippery term. I think it is most
   succinctly defined as: the networks of relationships among people who
   live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to
   function effectively.

   We have entered a burgeoning era in western society where there is less
   and less social capital needed between people for the society to
   continue to function. For example, most of us don’t need to trust a
   farmer to deliver food that isn’t poisoned because in the US we have
   the FDA which sets qualifications for producers to meet so that the
   food in the grocery store doesn’t harm anybody. There are numerous
   agencies and technologies that have the sole purpose of existing in
   order to lessen the amount of trust that we need in each other. I don’t
   think this is a bad evolution in society, to the contrary, I think it’s
   a net benefit for all involved.

   Therefore, the declining amount of social capital needed in our society
   for it to function is good for our economic production and physical
   well-being (at least at face value, but that’s a topic for another
   time.) On the other hand, what this allows for is further societal
   atomization without any harmful effects to economic production and/or
   physical well-being. The danger instead is shifted to our personal
   lives. Belonging to a community that has no other interest other than
   getting together with people that have similar ideologies, the amount
   of people growing a family, public recreation, and many other
   pro-social activities are all declining.

   The most recent development is in the workplace. Many workers have been
   operating remotely since the onset of the pandemic and the
   organizations they work for have been realizing that productivity has
   not been dramatically affected. Jack Dorsey recently announced that
   most Twitter employees would not be required to come into the office
   even after the pandemic slows, and in general the ability to work from
   home is being sold to us as a perk. But in the long run “Working from
   Home Post-Coronavirus Will Give Bosses Greater Control of Workers’
   Lives” as mentioned by Luke Savage in his article of the same name as
   well as essentially abolish casual co-working socialization and further
   diminish social capital in the work place.

   Frankly, we don’t need these social aspects in life to have our basic
   necessities met but it’s well known that most are beneficial, sometimes
   critical, for psychological growth and well-being.