Putnam and the Downfall of American Society

As I read Robert D. Putnam's story entitled Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital I can't help but wonder, is American social life really declining this drastically? This story seems to be all about how America is going downhill in the past half century. Putnam talks about how social gatherings have decreased immensely and how Americans are not politically aware of what is really going on in our country. Memberships for many fraternal organizations, volunteer work, and many other national affiliations have dropped off the social charts in America. Putnam remarks that 80 million people bowled at least once in 1993, nearly a third more than voted in 1994! He goes on to add that Americans are bowling more than ever, but that bowling leagues are plummeting... That decline in social interaction between people is hurting our national as a whole, and society doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. New technological advances socially deprive people because they tend to spend more and more of their leisure hours watching TV and playing video games instead of interacting with neighbors and just other people in general. It's scary to think that America is becoming more and more socially independent. Where will we be in the next 20 years if technology keeps increasing and Americans find more and more reasons to stay at home instead of going out for social occasions? I hope we will continue to thrive on our social status with each other and with our country.