FREE ESSAY ON PUTNAM'S THEORY ON BOWLING ALONE

PUTNAM'S THEORY ON BOWLING ALONE

Robert Putnam's central thesis in Bowling Alone is that there has been a decline in civic
engagement and social capital over the past few decades. The idea of bowling alone stems
from the fact that bowling in leagues from 1980 through 1993 decreased by 40 percent,
while individual bowlers increased by 10 percent (Putnam 112). Putnam uses this metaphor
for all forms of civic disengagement, meaning that people virtually do as little as
possible collectively and would rather focus purely on the individual, rather than the
group. Putnam's book addresses several topics of civic disengagement, including a decline
in civic participation and social isolation. Putnam focuses on the increasing amount of
television viewership and is wary to comment on technological increases, like the
Internet, for this decline. However, Putnam tends to focus on what is occurring, using
various sorts of data, and overlooks the true meaning of why it is occurring or the
positive effects from an average American's viewpoint.
The increase in television viewership and use of the Internet does mark a change in
social habits, but it does not warrant Putnam's view that it causes social isolation or
disengagement. People in the forties and fifties did not have the same ability as society
has today to watch television or use the Internet to get information. It is true that 50
years ago, citizens that wanted to be informed on current issues needed to attend
meetings or engage in verbal conversation with other people to gather that information.
Today, citizens spend an average of four hours a day watching television and countless
hours at a computer, but they are getting more detailed information than the people fifty
years ago did. 
The increase in television has allowed for all people to be better informed. Television
enables people to get a broader view of current events, including immediate reports from
around the globe and every angle of a situation because of the increase in television
technology. This helps America's fast-paced society. In addition, there are more
opportunities to discuss current concerns, like health, education, and even
entertainment. The ability to watch television around the clock means that someone
working a night shift can still get the latest new cooking and health techniques, or that
a child who is home for the summer can still engage in educational, but entertaining
programming. It may be argued that this isn't an effective use of time, but it is
convenient and that is important to the American public. 
Another aspect of increased television viewership is the ability to watch sitcoms and
sporting events. A person can also watch political debates and political analysis
programs on television. Some people may watch this genre of television alone, but
typically people enjoy watching them in a group. An example of this is the crowd of
people at local bars on Monday nights watching football or the parties that people throw
for a season premiere or an awards ceremony, or spending a family dinner enjoying the
debates on television. The fact that the number of restaurants has nearly doubled in the
past 30 years shows that there is a need to house more people for these kind of social
interactions (Lemann 6) and they might be too lazy to cook the meal and invite people
over, but they still want to engage. This contradicts the idea that more television
watching means less of virtually every form of civic participation and social involvement
(Putnam 228).
Putnam believes that it is too early to assess the long-run social effects of the
Internet (Putnam 171), but the positive impact on society must be expressed. However,
seeing that Putnam has a website (www.bowlingalone.com), one must assume that he thinks
it is a good form of social participation and civic engagement.
The best way to express how the Internet functions are through the words of Internet
theorist Michael Strangelove: The Internet is mass participation in fully bi-directional,
uncensored mass communication. The Internet is so full of possibilities and it has truly
helped the American people to better communicate with the world. 
The Internet has impacted the lives of everyone that has access to it. People utilize the
Internet for every form of social participation and civic engagement possible. From
news-groups to chat-rooms, from websites to online posting boards, any information that
one would want to access is available. This has greatly helped the American population
that always seems like it is in too much of a hurry. The information on the web is now
available all the time from any location. Putnam may argue that the Internet takes away
from the direct interaction, but truly there is no difference between sitting at a
meeting for an hour or listening to it at your own convenience on the Internet.
Putnam's Book, Bowling Alone, is an amazing account of society today. Putnam has
wonderfully valid points on civic disengagement and social participation. However, he
doesn't seem to realize that the country is like this for a reason. American people are
always in a hurry now a days and however unfortunate that may be, that is the way it is.

Americans are fortunate enough to have television and the Internet so that they can be a
part of society and engage in the community. People want to communicate and what makes
that possible is the television and the Internet. American's also feel this greater
amount of pressure to do more or know more; examples of this can be found in the extra
long working hours and the amount of time they spend on the phone or watching television.
It is obvious that Putnam doesn't agree with the excess of these activities, but although
it may sound naive, people are better off, both economically and socially because of the
television and the Internet. Considering that America seems to be driven, then contrary
to Putnam's beliefs, maybe the television and the Internet are steps in the direction of
leading American's to their goals. If that is the case, then bowling alone may not be
such an evil concept for the American people. 
Bibliography
Works Cited
Lemann, Nicholas. Kicking in Groups. The Atlantic Monthly. April, 1996.
Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone. New York, NY. 2000.
Skocpol, Theda. Unraveling from Above. The American Prospect. March-April, 1996.
Valelly, Richard M. Couch-Potato Democracy. The American Prospect. March-April, 1996.
Websites:
www.bowlingalone.com (visited 9/30/00).