The Thursday Thinker: 'I have seen first-hand socially active people turned into peeping Toms'

The reason I ask is because I was reminded this week of a book I once read: Bowling Alone. Even the title evokes an air of sadness, doesn’t it? It was written over a quarter of a century ago yet the emergency occurring to which it raised the alarm remains as urgent as ever. The book was inspired by the anathema of individual participation in ten-pin bowling in America being at an all-time high, whilst competitive league and team participation was at an all time low. People were quite literally bowling alone.

Think about that for a second: people must have been getting better and better, improving their power and accuracy; diversifying their shot selection and all the while scoring more and more points. But … for themselves. They were looking out for their own fortunes. Their own score. Staying, quite literally, in their own lane.

The metaphor, coined by Robert Putnam, of course transcended bowling alleys. He turned it into a social science commentary that prompted a moment of western reflection around the world, one that was so powerful, relevant and resonant that it seeped into common knowledge. It bore witness to the dissolution of civic society. Empty and closing pubs that once were heaving hubs of conversation, ideas and exchanges. Disappearing youth clubs that once would entertain, educate and engage young people in meaningful ways. Bingo halls and running clubs; knitting groups and cooking classes.

What we are witnessing, then, to borrow from Putnam, is the privatisation of leisure time. Jazz bands that once marched through villages playing joyful music, gone. Brass bands, too. Summer fairs, carnival princesses, Easter bonnet parades. Many of them branded relics of a bygone era but why? Why are we content to bury the cold, dead body of active, collective, shared social joy in favour of breathing life into socialising with noone at all? Little wonder there is a mental health crisis. Running alone. Cycling alone. Going to the gym at the same time as 200 other people, wearing earpods in our ears with blinkers on our eyes, not saying a word to anyone else.

Pause a moment to think on this, continuing the gym theme: some people film themselves working out on their mobile phones inside gyms, to share on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook etc. Again, that illusion of togetherness perpetuated by a pixellated illusion in the palm your hand. Likes counts offer validation, kudos and status that masquerades as approval from people you probably haven’t bumped into in years, who’d most likely ignore you in the street.

So, what brings me to ponder as much? Well, partly the $18bn settlement that Meta has agreed to pay to dozens of US states in a claim that accused the owners of Facebook and other social media applications of actively harming children. Meta denies, categorically, the charge.

A man walks down the street. Harms children, knowingly and deliberately. He’d be locked up. Big tech corps does it on a globalised industrial scale, and in exchange for doing so is allowed to purchase a get out of jail free card for the equivalent of a month’s revenue. I’m finding it hard to stomach. Children have died because of social media, around the world. This could not be more serious.

Now, this is where I leave Putnam for my own thoughts: I think this, to any right-minded person, is an insult to our intelligence. A gargantuan US firm, harms children around the world, then redistributes the profits made from said misery, pain and tragic consequences to … US states and citizens? Really? It is, frankly, unjust and injustice breeds distrust and contempt and those things bring isolation and loneliness.

You’ll ask yourself: what if that woman you bowl alongside, whose coffee preference you know, whose gait and stride you recognise, whose scent is stored in your memory bank but whose name you do not know; can you risk saying hi? What if she’s a weirdo. What if she’ll do you harm? Better not to build a bridge, right? Better not enter into a trust transfer transaction when there is a risk you’ll give yours and receive nothing in return?

This is where separatistism thrives. It is where lone-wolf terror is grown and populist politics permeates. ‘Nobody is with you; you’re all alone; nobody cares and guess what, there are more people coming to bowl alongside you who don’t drink coffee at all, who walk all funny and smell of exotic fragrances not smelt before on these shores. Vote for us and we’ll keep you safe.’

I suppose what I’m trying to say is this: join a club. Create one if you have to. Build common purpose and shared joy-cum-jeopardy. Win together or lose together, whatever. But be together.

James

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