Writing about Literature in the Digital Age

Putnam defined social capital as the "features of social organization, such as trust, norms and networks, that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions

, civic engagement is a function of communication among members via their social networks, and as civic engagement increases, so does quality of life in the community. Thus, communities with vibrant communication networks are likely to have a preferable quality of life.

. Dimmick, Patterson, and Sikand (1996) argued for the role of the traditional telephone in developing and maintaining strong interpersonal communication patterns in the local community.

Prior to his arrest, Thoreau had lived a quiet, solitary life at Walden, an isolated pond in the woods about a mile and a half from Concord. He now returned to Walden to mull over two questions: (1) Why do some men obey laws without asking if the laws are just or unjust; and, (2) why do others obey laws they think are wrong?

Transcendentalism became Thoreau’s intellectual training ground. His first appearance in print was a poem entitled “Sympathy” published in the first issue of The Dial, a Transcendentalist paper. As Transcendentalists migrated to Concord, one by one, Thoreau was exposed to all facets of the movement and took his place in its inner circle. At Emerson’s suggestion, he kept a daily journal, from which most of Walden was eventually culled. [12]     But Thoreau still longed for a life both concrete and spiritual. He wanted to translate his thoughts into action. While Transcendentalists praised nature, Thoreau walked through it.

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But in this more narcissistic Internet era, people who were once happily anonymous view themselves as online minicelebrities with their own brands to promote.

vanity addresses

accounts on sites like Twitter and Facebook tend to show up at the top of the list when people search the Web