CCP219: On the Decline of Gathering
In this week’s conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a survey from Data for Progress, which zeroed in on the level of social activities that Americans have participated in within the last year. It seems the loneliness epidemic, announced officially by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023, has only gotten worse. So what kind of impact is this having on our culture?
Episode Links
The results of this survey prompted Dr. White to write a recent blog called “Still Bowling Alone,” which you can read on Church & Culture HERE. The title of that blog was inspired by a book (also referenced in today’s episode) by Robert Putnam called Bowling Alone.
Dr. White also mentioned an article written by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic titled “The Anti-Social Century.” The subtitle of this article is very telling: “Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.” You can read that article HERE. Both Putnam’s book and Thompson’s article help to make the argument that this trend of isolating ourselves is nothing new. But the ways that the Internet and the rise of all things social media have fueled this isolation are clear.
There are several articles that we want to share with you for some more background on today’s conversation. The titles serve as links if you’d like to check them out:
James Davidson Hunter, “The Third Founding Declaration,” The Hedgehog Review.
Colleen McClain et al., “Online Community and Connection in America,” Pew Research Center.
“Decline in American social activities,” FlowingData.
Megan Fowler, “In Christ Alone: Most Believers Say They Don’t Need Others for Discipleship,” Christianity Today.
Diana Aguilera, “The Truth About Online Lying,” Stanford Magazine.
Finally, as Dr. White mentioned, there can be amazing community found online, including within the life of the church. This idea was what inspired his latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age. You can find that book on Amazon HERE. And if you want to see an example of Mecklenburg Community Church’s online community in action, we would encourage you to check out the Online Campus.
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