The back page of Newsweek often has some interesting factoids about cultural change. In the July 26 issue, the focus was on exactly how much the digital revolution has changed our lives in just the last ten years. I was shocked. Here are some tidbits:

In 2000, there were 12,000 active blogs. Now there are 12 million, of which Flunking Sainthood is one humble part.

In 2000, there were 4 reality TV shows. (What were these, I wonder?) Now there are 320 on TV.

In 2000, we exchanged 12 billion emails and 400,000 text messages. In 2010 it’s 247 billion and 4.5 billion, respectively.

In 2000, we spent 2.7 hours a week online. Now it’s an average of 18 hours a week. (This is the one I feel most keenly.)

In 2000, the number of iTunes downloads was precisely zero, and we spent $943 million on CDs. Today, we do 10 billion iTunes downloads but spend half as much on CDs, at $427.9 million.

In 2000, there were 282,242 books published (actually, I think this is on the high end). In 2010l, the estimate is for 1,052,803.

Oh, and number of clowns has more than doubled (from 1,200 to 2,700), which is a sure harbinger of doom.