I'm currently reading Chuck Klosterman's The Visible Man. Because I can't highlight my copy:

Solitary people are generally more engaged with mass media. They have no alternative. [127]

What kind of person immigrated to the New World? Not counting slaves, there were only four types, really: people who didn't think Europe was religious enough, people who thought they could make a lot of money, antisocial failures with no other option, and fruitcakes who thought risking their lives on an alien shore might make for an interesting adventure. Those are the four components of the American gene pool. [133]