Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American CommunityOnce we bowled in leagues, usually after work—but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolizes a significant social change that Robert Putnam has identified in this brilliant volume, which The Economist hailed as “a prodigious achievement.” Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans’ changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures—whether they be PTA, church, or political parties—have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe. Like defining works from the past, such as The Lonely Crowd and The Affluent Society, and like the works of C. Wright Mills and Betty Friedan, Putnam’s Bowling Alone has identified a central crisis at the heart of our society and suggests what we can do. |
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Page 170
... Internet are likely to be similarly flawed . Very few things can yet be said with any confidence about the connec- tion between social capital and Internet technology . One truism , however , is this : The timing of the Internet ...
... Internet are likely to be similarly flawed . Very few things can yet be said with any confidence about the connec- tion between social capital and Internet technology . One truism , however , is this : The timing of the Internet ...
Page 179
... Internet may displace time in front of the tube : one survey in 1999 found that among Internet users , 42 percent said they watched less TV as a result , compared with only 19 percent who said they read fewer magazines and 16 percent ...
... Internet may displace time in front of the tube : one survey in 1999 found that among Internet users , 42 percent said they watched less TV as a result , compared with only 19 percent who said they read fewer magazines and 16 percent ...
Page 221
... Internet or on all - news cable channels also are " generalists " in their news consumption . CNN viewers , for example , are twice as likely as other Americans to watch the evening network newscasts . Even enthusiasts for Internet news ...
... Internet or on all - news cable channels also are " generalists " in their news consumption . CNN viewers , for example , are twice as likely as other Americans to watch the evening network newscasts . Even enthusiasts for Internet news ...
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activities adults African Americans American analysis of DDB Author's analysis average Barry Wellman behavior boomers bowling chapter Chicago church attendance cities citizens civic disengagement civic engagement club meetings cohort community projects compared computer-mediated communication correlated DDB Needham decades decline Democracy demographic economic effects entertainment environmental evidence fewer figure forms fraction friends Gilded Age groups growth half important income individual Internet Journal less levels membership ment mobility National National Election Study nearly Needham Life Style neighborhood neighbors organizational organizations parents participation percent Political Trends surveys poll population predictor Progressive Era religion religious reported Research Robert Roper Social roughly Social and Political social capital social connectedness social networks Social Survey social trust society Statistics Style survey archive television Theda Skocpol tion turnout twentieth century University Press Urban virtually voluntary associations volunteering voting watching women workplace York