The rise of the introvert?

In an interesting parallel to the hoopla around the release of Cain's book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won't Stop Talking,"  Eric Klinenberg has just released, "Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone."  Klinenberg, a sociologist, garnered a great deal of attention a few years ago for his book, "Heat Wave," chronicling the effects of a massive heat wave on the citizens of Chicago.  Many, if not all, of the fatalities in that disaster were people living alone.  I don't know if that is what piqued his interest or not, but it seems to make sense.

I read a discussion their discussion of the book in the Chronicle of Higher Education. More interesting to me than the notion that people might enjoy living alone, was the apparently "erroneous" statistic about the social isolation of Americans based on the 2004 General Social Survey. I remember when this came out, the finding that over a quarter of Americans are socially isolated.  Turns out that the number pulled from the survey, while correct, is extremely volatile and usually ranges around 10%.  In addition, there are other, more reliable measures and questions, that put the social isolation mark lower than 25%, too.  But, the number fed into our fears that technology was driving people apart, that the social fabric of our society was disintegrating (re: Putnam's Bowling Alone.)

I heard part of an interview with Klinenberg on the Diane Rehm show today. He points out how the proportion of people living alone has increased and how the satisfaction of those people has increased, too.

I find it interesting that both books should premiere nearly simultaneously--what is the link between introversion and living alone?  Are we seeing an "introvert backlash"?  Are the quiet people starting to speak up?

Not sure if this link will work...here is the Chronicle article
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Case-for-American/130480/

Here is an essay by Klinenberg:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/living-alone-means-being-social.html

Here is the interview with Diane Rehm:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-02-06/eric-klinenberg-going-solo-extraordinary-rise-and-surprising-appeal-living-alone