Passage-Based Focused Freewriting

In the article, "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy", I found a very interesting sentence. It says, 'You could also regard the growing popularity of online awareness as a reaction to social isolation, the modern American disconnectedness that Robert Putnam explored in his book
“Bowling Alone.”' Most of the article is about how Facebook changed and how it affected the users and their knowledge of friends' lives. I found this sentence strange because it is trailing off from the main message of the article. Why do you think this is so? I believe that it adds to the message because people do join websites like Facebook in order to connect with friends or family. When you are lonely these websites help to feel like you're with these people.