The modern world feels more connected than ever before: a single message can be conveyed thousands of miles to millions of people at minuscule cost. With all this information flowing around, how can we discover what people think? Are more regular surveys the answer?

Ed Howker and Shiv Malik, authors of a new book, consider themselves amongst the oldest members of the ‘jilted generation’. They could also be KIPPERS – ‘Kids in Parents’ Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings’; IPODs – ‘Insecure, Pressurised, Overtaxed and Debt-ridden’; or any other acronym that recognises the apparently unsung truth that the Young Have Never Had It So Bad.

President Obama’s reaction to the BP oil spill appears to be harming British people’s opinions of the United States. Accusations of Brit-bashing, and the potential damage to British pensions pots (to which BP contributes £1 in every £7 paid in dividends by FTSE 100 companies) may have contributed towards the disillusionment the British public have with their transatlantic cousins.