There’s this book out called Bowling Alone 

I hadn’t read it yet, but I did read the synopsis and also talked to people that had read it.   And to be honest, it hits “right on” with alot of things about people these days. This not only is true in the dating world, but also in any kind of relationship, friendship, and the like.
Putnam, the author of Bowling Alone states, “In a nutshell, he argued that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself.” 

Gone are the days where neighbors actually KNOW each other, I hardly know my neighbors. No more, “Hi Fred how’s the wife!” and so on.  No more invites on the block to block parties or BBQ’s.  People have a tendency to stay to themselves these days.

Social Capital, as coined by Robert Putnam in “Bowling Alone” is the idea that you have people in your life as capital.  Friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, etc.

These people are what help you be able to grow in life.  They are the people who you can network with.  The friend who will help you move.  The colleague who will give you a job tip.  The coworker who will introduce you to her single friend.

You see anyone who lives like an “island” and you see they can’t get far in life.

I have noticed that some people don’t “Get out” as much as they used to either.

We are all “connected” by technology, things are alot more impersonal with other people these days.  We are “connencted” but essentially DISCONNECTED to the people in our lives, even if we are suppose to care about them.

This kind of reminds me of the movie “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells where the inventor invents a time machine, and goes SO much into the future (a ludicrous amount of years) that humans were “Cattle” to the morlocks.  A paritcular scene in that movie, there was a woman drowning, and there were humans scattered about her just looking, but not doing anything about it, not even attempting to save her, even though they were within arms reach.

This is not unlike the senario of when someone gets shot and is dying in a major metro area, and no one does anything to help the person.

Parents are dropping their kids off at daycare, while they tend to their selfish desires to pursue careers, basically leaving children that are too young without any kind of interaction with their families.  The most they could do is leave them with the grandparents or other relatives.  If they aren’t around, I suggest you become a stay at home mom OR just don’t have children.

It’s all par to the superficial society in which we live. And I find it most definate that it’s affecting the dating world as well, the shallowness and superficialities of this society.  How we take others for granted, hurting others, and also indifference.  Don’t want to answer a guys/gals phone call? Just let it go to voicemail and erase it later, right, don’t return thier calls! And so on.
It’s an interesting read, check out “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putnam

Bookmark to: