On Friday I attended the second Come Friday Forum of the year entitled “Why are we lonelier today than our grandparents were?” Hosted by Dr. Ben Horton, PH.D. ‘12, Assistant Academic Dean.
The discussion that followed the presentation touched on the obvious responses–such as social media, the difference between loneliness and solitude, and the career vs. family way of life. What struck me the most from this discussion was the analysis of the post-World War II suburbanization boom, which ultimately led to an increase and development in car culture, which led to widespread personal affluence that stripped America’s small towns of their warm, interconnected families.
If you took HI-199: America-Origins or World Power (shoutout Saint Anselm History Dept.!) or a post-WWII high school history class, you may be familiar with the term “Levittowns” which refers to the post-WWII mass produced housing developments that created the suburbs as when know them today. These look-alike houses were first brought on to the scene in the late 1940s by the Levitt and Sons real estate development company. As these Levittown communities continued to pop up, there became a need for central shopping plazas, or malls, as the town corner stores became fewer and farther between.
As the economy and consumerism began to grow, more families were able to purchase cars for transportation to these shopping centers, work, and leisure. Car culture became about youth and fun, while simultaneously putting in motion the disconnect and seclusion of individuals in suburbs that we see today.
All this to say, affluence combined with developing technology has made it possible for people to practice their autonomy on an individual basis—it doesn’t “take a village” when you can do and access everything by yourself. Neighborhoods are characterized by the community within an area, not simply the area alone. During the forum’s discussion, some participants noted how they will visit their grandparents who live in these traditional suburban areas. However, their grandparents will try to dissuade them from walking around the cul-de-sac and nearby areas because of a concern for safety. The group theorized that social media and the news media have exposed these grandparents to stories of crime around the world that has convinced them that their once safe community that their kids grew up in is now no longer safe for their grandchildren to go for a walk. There is great distrust among neighbors. Are these fears justified? Are these neighborhoods dangerous compared to the days of the past? Or do we simply no longer know who lives in our neighborhood?
To quote Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath, “Say, who are the people in your neighborhood? The People that you meet each day.” At this stage of life, do you see your neighbors every day? I live in a very safe suburb, and I remember that when I was little, I would go play with the kids in my neighborhood and run home when it was time for dinner. I knew the neighbors who lived in the houses across and next to mine. I biked to school with very little concern for danger from the people I would see along the way, and I waved to the police officer at the crosswalk every single day. My community felt connected, and this all happened before my peers and I had phones or frequented the internet. Is technology—in all its forms —the culprit who initiated the collapse of the common neighborhood?
My favorite idea expressed by a participant in the Come Friday Forum was “When you don’t need to rely on your neighbors, you don’t need to know your neighbors.” It’s a powerful thought that exposes the fact that we get our entertainment, our groceries, and our communications in an isolated manner, through the internet and with our own transportation, to relatively big stores that allow for virtual anonymity.
The neighborhoods of the past seem like a distant memory even from that of my life. Mister Rogers put it best when he sang, “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?” I encourage all of us to seek the community of the past, in order for a more connected and protected future.