I unofficially studied ideas pretty similar to this in college. For a brief stint (~2/3 years), I was very interested in the intersection of communication, technology, activism, and public policy.

I've heard this argument referred to as the "Bowling Alone Hypothesis" [1]. Basically the idea that first radio, then television, and now the internet, etc. are socially isolating us from one another and we're stuck "Amusing Ourselves to Death" [2]. There is also likely an anthropological / evolutionary biology argument to be made about the development of small group communication.

Some simply dismiss these arguments as ludditism, but I think a much more nuanced response casts the internet as a great medium for communication [3], social engagement [4], and activism [5].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death [3] http://bigideas.tvo.org/episode/141052/clay-shirky-on-cognit... [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU [5] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1086939