'Bowling Alone'

BOWLING ALONE: THE COLLAPSE AND
REVIVAL OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY
by Robert D. Putnam

In his 2000 book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University Robert Putnam explores the ways in which people have become more disconnected from one another due in part to the rise and influence of modern communications technology. About two-thirds of the way through last century, Putnam says, Americans -- and I believe it would be fair to extend his research to include most of the Western world -- simply stopped partaking in group activities. He cites the case of bowling alley membership declining over the past twenty years, and the economic impact of people no longer bowling in leagues (it is from here that he takes the title). The loss of social capital has lead to a more disparate and 'less connected' society, Putnam says. Entertainment television is 'lethal' to civic engagement and real-world interaction; "...people watch Friends, rather than having friends."

If all of this interaction with technology -- and particularly communications technology -- is making us less socially well-rounded, then I wonder what Dr. Putnam thinks of interactive social networking web applications such as Facebook and IM programs such as MSN? Personally I feel as though these technologies allow me to interact socially with people more regularly regardless of geographical or other constraints, albeit that the interaction achieved through such services is a of different nature than meeting someone in person.