saved
Americans’ social activity has steeply declined in the past 30 years
Hraness wrote this summary from a saved copy of the source. Quotations are taken word for word from the source.
gist
Data for Progress repeated questions from the 1995 DDB Needham Life Style survey cited in Bowling Alone and found double-digit drops in everyday social activities, such as entertaining at home, worship, picnics, club meetings, and card games. Internet use, home video games, exercise classes, and concerts rose, though the authors caution that the two surveys used different methods.
ideas
- Hosting fell furthest. Entertaining people at home dropped from 88% to 67%, and classes or seminars fell 22 points from 54% to 32%.
- Institutions thinned. Worship attendance fell from 74% to 54% and club meetings from 45% to 26%.
- Screens and fitness rose. Internet use went from 8% to 98%, home video games from 42% to 64%, and exercise classes from 18% to 32%.
- Suggestive, not precise. The 1995 mail survey and the 2026 web panel differ in sampling and mode, but the authors see the consistent direction as a real signal.
quotes
“Church attendance has dropped from 74% in 1995 to 54% in 2026.”
“There has also been a 19-point decline in attendance at club meetings, from 45% in 1995 to 26% in 2026.”
“find that the magnitude and consistency in trends across measures is a substantial signal about trends in behaviors nonetheless”