Book Challenge: Read Ray Oldenburg’s Book “The Great Good Place”

 


I recently read about a small-town bowling alley that started noticing a gradual but significant drop in their business a few years ago. 

The owner suspected social media could account for the change. Folks were using Facebook to find out what everyone was up to; they didn’t need to stop in at the bowling alley or bar.

The owners offered the Facebook followers a $100 certificate for hosting an event for a group of 10 or more people. The result was a big goose egg.

The owner in the story explained it this way: “The people we gave certificates to had a lot of friends on Facebook, but they didn’t have much real influence. They liked the idea of hosting a bowling party, and several of them tried, but they couldn’t get a group of people to show up.”

The decline of social interaction across the United States was documented in Robert Putnam’s classic book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.” Putnam’s work was published in 2000, before the advent of social media. 

He attributed the decline to several factors that changed society in the 1960s and 70s, things like automobiles, suburban sprawl, and television. 

Computers and social media are simply the latest development in a trend of technological advances that collectively make us less dependent on one another for our daily needs.

Each new technological development promises to make us happier by giving us greater freedom and control. Think of how companies such as Netflix and Hulu changed home entertainment. They made our lives easier by removing the inconvenience of trips to the local video store. But they also removed numerous small opportunities for social interaction.

Amazon is doing the same thing with home delivery. The freedom of shopping at home comes at the cost of meeting one’s neighbors, saying hello to an old acquaintance in the shoe aisle, and catching up on the news of the summer.

I would challenge you to read Ray Oldenburg’s book “The Great Good Place” and describe your favorite informal gathering place. This must be a place that is neither home (“first place”) nor work (“second place”), but the place where you socialize regularly (their “third place”). 

It turns out that most people today do not have such a place. It’s time to reverse the trend, slow our lives down and spend more time together.

The benefits are enormous. People who have a regular third place greatly expand their circle of friends,  laugh more often, are more engaged in their community, and live longer. 

Third places also benefit entire communities by serving as places to get to know your neighbors, build social trust, and help decrease political polarization.

It’s not that hard to make a change. The first step is to find a third place: a coffee shop, a cafe, a tavern, a church, or a park. The next step is to go there regularly. It is good for you; it is good for your community; it is good for America.

Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.com or visit his website at http://engagedneighbor.com.


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