Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community is a 2000 nonfiction book by Robert D. Putnam. It was developed from his 1995 essay entitled "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital". Putnam surveys the decline of social capital in the United States since 1950. He has described the reduction in all the forms of in-person social intercourse upon which Americans used to found, educate, and enrich the fabric of their social lives. He argues that this undermines the active civic engagement which a strong democracy requires from its citizens.
Bowling Alone
An 1892 portrayal of a bowling establishment in the Spalding Athletic Library reflects the sport's social aspect.
Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to protect public values or make a change in a community. The goal of civic engagement is to address public concerns and promote the quality of the community.
Volunteering is an important type of civic engagement. Pictured are volunteers cleaning up after the 2012 Hurricane Sandy.
An example of civic engagement, in the form of phone banking
Voter turn out sticker
Social media platforms as channels for citizen discussions and for governments to reach audiences
