Bowling Alone
The Collapse and Revival of American Community
by Robert D. Putnam · first published 2000
44% recommend55% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Data-driven account of the decline of American civic life and social capital since the 1960s, tying it to TV, suburban design and loneliness. Suits readers who want evidence behind the isolation debate.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet—the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our sense of community remains more relevant than ever in today’s fractured America. Twenty years, ago, Robert Putnam made a seemingly simple observation: once we bowled in leagues, usually after work; but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolized a significant social change that became the basis of the acclaimed bestseller, Bowling Alone, which The Washington Post call
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2024Hanging Out
Sheila Liming
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2013–2026The harried leisure class
Staffan Burenstam Linder
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2012–2026The great good place
Ray Oldenburg
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 128 recommend · 12 mention8 recommend · 128 recommend
2016–2023The village effect
Susan Pinker
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2011–2023The slaughter of cities
E. Michael Jones
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
2011–2023The way we never were
Stephanie Coontz
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2022–2026The 2-Hour Cocktail Party
Nick Gray
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
I’d read Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone or The Upswing. (Or just watch him talk about it on YouTube) Social division is definitely higher than it’s ever been in decades. Racism and sexism is less prevalent but social division is actually…
on “Is everything falling apart?” ↗…underestimates the increase in impoverishment here imo also. There are also the frequent articles concerning how many people are $500/$1000/etc away disaster. For increased social isolation, Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone is the classic (Note, Gates is neither an economist nor a sociologist. Putnam is a well recognized sociologist). Note that the Average American's life span decreased for the second year in a row. This…
on “My Parents Are Flat Earthers” ↗…for a Day" and then compare to "How the Other Half Lives". And violent crime certainly has not been falling in the inner cities: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=271919 4) Read Robert Putnams's Bowling Alone. Basically TV and video games have replaced the old civic organizations like the Masons or bowling leagues. 5) High drop out rates are a feature. It means young adults aren't required by law to waste…
on “I was driven mad by the Chinese education system” ↗I think the distractive power of the internet is the key point, and is and will be a major sociological factor. A (to me) related book is Bowling Alone which discusses the decline of community in America. I think the two are linked: in place of constant electronic stimulation people don't just sit around staring at a wall: they tend to create and participate…
on “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” ↗(I'm Tom, Elizabeth's cofounder) - I agree with the societal reflection. Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam really speaks to this so well. While one of the changes we think about is that, the more positive one is that we now know SO much about how the young brain develops. We want parents…
on “Launch HN: Trustle (YC W20) – On-demand child development experts for parents” ↗…as the previous commenter quipped to a similar question 'Yes, Robert Putnam identified all these trends by the 80s and 90s, but nobody liked how gloomy he was about it.' Link: https://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Commu... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_D._Putnam
on “Is going to the office a broken way of working?” ↗…are the real ones. And I want to say that the process was worth it; But this idea that friends are extremely loyal to each other seems entirely unfounded in modern society. I recommend Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone which breaks down the problems modern America and Western society in general are facing regarding civil action, friendship and loyalty.
on “What does friendship look like in America?” ↗Or Putnam's "Bowling Alone"
on “How Social Isolation Is Killing Us” ↗Give Putnam's Bowling Alone a read if you haven't already
on “A Solution for Loneliness: Get out and volunteer, research suggests” ↗Financial stability vs. love is a false dichotomy. You could also say that shift is from Community & Family Commitment to Emotionally Driven Radical Autonomy. Read Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam or look at what "love" marriages are doing in India. In the 60's everyone was casting off (often shitty) cultural restraints, but it was an overcorrection that was almost completely…
on “The Decline of marriage?” ↗Two great books on this topic you may have already read - Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" as well as Supercapitalism by Robert Reich. Reading these two works has really shifted my view on regulation and govenment in general from "something other people do" to something I think about in a…
on “The Modern Workforce” ↗…we've had a splintering post WWII is great and probably pretty accurate. I just wish I knew an easy solution to fix it. But there is definitely a loss of shared values among Americans. I'd also recommend Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam as a starter on this topic.
on “The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan” ↗>...I strongly suspect people spent less time alone in the past. Yea, a book that overs this is: "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community" https://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Commu...
on “Who Americans spend their time with” ↗I find this perfectly credible because almost exactly the same conclusions were stated by Putnam in the classic _Bowling Alone_ [1]. A couple of pull-quotes from that, > Dozens of painstaking studies... have established beyond reasonable doubt that ... [t]he more integrated we are with our community, the less likely we are…
on “80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life” ↗Have you read "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam? It's a tad outdated, but describing the same trends of growing loneliness and isolation. And sure enough, the author concluded that television was a factor (though not the primary factor.)…
on “How Loneliness Is Tearing America Apart” ↗