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Post by Liiisa on Feb 1, 2019 17:20:14 GMT -5
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Post by scrubb on Feb 1, 2019 18:47:45 GMT -5
For the kids groups I can easily see it still goes back to women working - so loads of the kids are in after school care, which means there is less time for other activities like Brownies. Hmmm. HAdn't thought of it, but when I was a kid we went directly to Brownies from school; and we were also even allowed to take the bus to activities without parents having to take us. That change - that parents have to TAKE kids to places, they're not allowed to just walk over - would make a difference. By the time I was in the organization I mentioned, most people's moms worked. There were very few people whose moms didn't work, although admittedly not all would have been full time. But, we were a bit older and most activities were in the evening (between 5:30 and 9:00), so not directly after school. MEaning it wasn't such a big rush for parents getting home from work. And we did lots of carpooling. Which is to say that for groups that older kids are in (say, 10+), working mothers doesn't really explain the change, IMO.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Feb 1, 2019 19:18:57 GMT -5
Scrubb - that makes sense. I suppose I am seeing things from the primary school perspective, as that is the stage I am in.
Sadly here, the only bussing that happens is loads of kids from one local school are picked up by minivans and taken to coaching colleges after school, so they can try to ace the entrance test to the opportunity classes for Yrs 5 and 6 in the hope they will then ace the test for a selective high school.
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Post by Queen on Feb 3, 2019 3:39:16 GMT -5
I'm not going to read the bowling book... but it's something I notice.
I think women in the workforce is a major part of it... and as for kids there's other research showing that kids (at least in the UK) have less area they can roam unsupervised, I wonder if that's having an impact.
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Post by shilgia on Feb 3, 2019 9:52:48 GMT -5
So I've finally gotten to the part of the book where he discusses the Why of the general trend. Again, in exhaustive statistical detail. So far, he's covered the following possible contributors (and he has already previewed that none really explain the whole phenomenon):
- More women in the work force and other 'pressures of time and money': he concludes that increased participation of women in the work force contributes to the trend, but forms only a "modest part of the explanation." There are some indicators that some of the women who in the past would have been the types to get involved in community activity (active, capable, social) have now been drawn into the work force, leaving them with less time to be involved in volunteering and clubs. And he says that when these women became less involved, others may have become more disengaged as a result as well. At the same time, he says, this can't be the primary cause of diminished civic engagement, among other reasons because "civic engagement and social connectedness have diminished almost equally for both women and men, working or not, married or single, financially stressed or financially comfortable."
- Increased geographic mobility and sprawling cities: people in large metropolitan areas are less involved in their community, and more people have moved to those kinds of areas. The author concludes that this contributes to the picture, but says that "it cannot account for more than a small fraction of the decline, for civil engagement is perfectly visible in smaller towns and rural areas as yet untouched by sprawl."
- Spread of television: this seems to be a huge contributor. (He talks about the internet a bit as well, but focuses mostly on TV; the internet was not so widespread yet at the time he finished this book.) If you read this chapter, you want to throw your TV out of the room. He rounds up all the evidence that TV makes people "isolated, passive, and detached from their community," not to mention more likely to be depressed. As it turns out, there is powerful evidence that those people who have turned to TV as their primary source of entertainment are the most likely of all the groups he looked at to have dropped out of any and all community activities, spend less time with friends and family, be less likely to vote, read the newspaper, etc.
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Post by Liiisa on Feb 3, 2019 10:10:52 GMT -5
Thank you again for this thorough summary, shilgia! I will note that most of the people I hang out with in these nature classes, walks, etc don't watch very much TV. (But then I am capable of spending a TV-equivalent amount of time on the internet, so I think one could substitute "TV" for "screen media.")
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Post by shilgia on Feb 3, 2019 10:38:39 GMT -5
I'm sorry, I'm boring everyone here! It's kind of nice to share the struggle though, while slogging through this book! Thank you all for participating. :-)
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Post by lillielangtry on Feb 4, 2019 3:51:11 GMT -5
Not boring at all shilgia - perhaps we should do more summaries of books that are potentially interesting in Content, but which we don't want to read in full! ;-) The Guardian has a "digested read" sometimes that does this, it's pretty humorous.
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Post by sprite on Feb 4, 2019 5:07:57 GMT -5
The digested read is hilarious. I must remember to read it more often, seeing as i donate monthly to the guardian.
Shilgia, thanks for the summary. all those reasons are interesting. i find i'm watching a lot of tv nowadays, but usually in the background while i do something else (order groceries, plan hols, fb, sew). when partner is away, i watch much less--because i'm doing stuff in other parts of the house. i realise that i go into the living room with him to share company, but then i'm bored because he's reading and my activities aren't full absorbent, so i need entertainment.
i'm trying to listen to more music rather than switch on TV.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Feb 5, 2019 4:58:56 GMT -5
I wonder if they way TV is consumed now, in binges, will change things again?
So instead of having to be home each Tuesday at a certain time to watch something, you can see it at any time you want. Which means you can more easily fit it in around other things.
At book club last night once we had finished talking books we talked Netflix. And there was a range of shows we were watching, and some were finished a season, others just starting or some half way through.
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Post by sprite on Feb 6, 2019 4:42:24 GMT -5
Box sets could change. I've watched most of Luther over the past couple of weeks, while doing longer cooking or restoring my bureau. it's probably made those jobs a bit longer as i have to pause or move or replay, but it feels better than sitting on the sofa to watch.
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