Bowling Alone

Today in class we had a discussion about Robert Putnam's book Bowling Alone. Although we didn't have to read it for this class, I liked talking about it. I read a chapter of it for my UPP101 class, so I knew what Putnam was talking about. Basically, we came to the conclusion that back in the fifties and sixties, people were more connected within their neighborhoods through weekly bowling leagues. But nowadays, people are more distanced from each other and don't necessarily require that once-a-week meeting to see each other. Jill mentioned that part of it is the fact that people are more invested in themselves and are too busy dealing with their own affairs to join an organization that meets once a week. I agree with her, but I also feel that today's advancement in technology plays a big role in the decrease of organization membership. People don't need to set aside one night a week for catching up on stuff with friends because they can call, email, text, page their friends within a matter of seconds. It is so much easier to get in touch with our friends that it is no longer necessary to be a part of an organization to see them or talk to them.
Personally speaking, the bowling alley is still very much a place of community. I worked at a bowling alley in Cicero for over a year, also participating in multiple leagues that the bowling alley offered. Although most of the people who bowl there aren't from Cicero--coming in from Humboldt Park, West Lawn, Carol Stream, and many other neighborhoods--there was such a strong community feel within the walls of that bowling alley. I quickly learned that sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles would all come together to bowl in a particular league. It was so easy to get sucked in and become a part of the "Town Hall Bowl family."
Over the years, bowling alleys have shut down and been torn down at an alarming rate, a sign that bowling just isn't as popular as it once was. Furthermore, with the increasing rate of Brunswick Zones, family-owned bowling alleys, such as Town Hall, just aren't able to keep up. But either way, the bowling alley is still a place of strong community, even if it's not as prevalent as it used to be. Today's world is a fastpaced, hectic one and people just don't have the time to devote one night a week to a specific group or organization. Things are done via the internet and quick minute-long phone calls. People are constantly on the run and hardly have any time to sleep, let alone be part of a bowling league. To an extent, Putnam is right, but communities are just being formed and meeting together in different ways is all.