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 224
... watching television together as they spend talking to each other , and six to seven times as much as they spend in community activities outside the home . Moreover , as the number of TV sets per household multiplies , even watching ...
... watching television together as they spend talking to each other , and six to seven times as much as they spend in community activities outside the home . Moreover , as the number of TV sets per household multiplies , even watching ...
Page 229
... watching , the watcher , and the watched . Before we turn to these important subtleties , figure 61 presents some of the evidence linking TV watching and civic disengagement . In order to screen out the effects of life cycle and ...
... watching , the watcher , and the watched . Before we turn to these important subtleties , figure 61 presents some of the evidence linking TV watching and civic disengagement . In order to screen out the effects of life cycle and ...
Page 238
... watching has such a powerful impact on civic engagement that one hour less daily viewing is the civic - vitamin equivalent of five or six more years of education . There is reason to believe that the displacement effects of television ...
... watching has such a powerful impact on civic engagement that one hour less daily viewing is the civic - vitamin equivalent of five or six more years of education . There is reason to believe that the displacement effects of television ...
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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