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SOCIAL CAPITAL
I THINK THAT IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT ONE OF THE CATCH PHRASES OF
TODAY IS “SOCIAL CAPITAL”. LIKE “INFRASTRUCTURE” WE HEAR EVERYONE
FROM POLITICIANS TO PUBLICANS TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL CAPITAL.
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PORNOGRAPHY DIDN’T EXIST. OF COURSE THIS REMEMBRANCE OF
BYGONE DAYS IS INFUSED WITH SELECTIVITY. WE TEND TO FORGET THAT
CARS WERE STOLEN, PEOPLE WERE RUDE, PEOPLE TOOK DRUGS AND
PORNOGRAPHY WAS AVAILABLE.
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SOCIAL CAPITAL CREATES VALUE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONNECTED
AND SOMETIMES FOR ONLOOKERS AS WELL.
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THE DECLINE IN POPULATION HAS LED TO TOWNS DYING WITH OFTEN
THE FIRST SIGN BEING THE FAILURE TO HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE TO
FORM A FOOTY TEAM.
PUTNAM WAS NOT THE FIRST WRITER TO USE THE TERM BUT HE AMASSED
AN ARRAY OF SPECIFIC DATA THAT PRESENTED HIS CASE FORCEFULLY.
FOR EXAMPLE,
VOLUNTEERISM
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BACK IN 1999 IT WAS REPORTED THAT 19% OF AUSTRALIANS
VOLUNTEERED THEIR TIME AND ONLY 12% IN SYDNEY. THE 2001 CENSUS
DID NOT REQUEST INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEERISM SO OUR FIGURES ARE
FROM THE 2006 CENSUS. THIS DATA IS NOT ENCOURAGING. NATIONALLY,
VOLUNTEERISM HAD DROPPED TO 17.91%, BUT IN SYDNEY IT HAD RISEN
SLIGHTLY TO 14.8%. WHO SAYS SYDNEYSIDERS ARE COLD-HEARTED?
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PUTNAM NOTICED THAT VOLUNTEERISM HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED
AMONGST OLDER PEOPLE AND HAD SHIFTED FROM COMMUNITY PROJECTS
TO ONE-ON-ONE ACTIVITIES. IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE, FOR EXAMPLE, AS A
COUNSELOR WITH LIFELINE WE HAVE A REGULAR TURN-OVER OF PEOPLE
(A HIGH PROPORTION OF WHICH ARE UNIVERSITY PSYCHOLOGY
STUDENTS). I SUSPECT THAT MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO
THE ONE ON ONE NATURE OF COUNSELING, AS DISTINCT FROM THE
WORKING BEE OR CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY.
THE INTERNET
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EVEN THE MIGRANT EXPERIENCE CONFIRMS THAT THE TELEPHONE
MAINTAINS EXISTING FAMILY CONNECTIONS. WHO REMEMBERS THE
HEART-WRENCHING TELEVISION ADS WITH MIGRANTS TALKING TO LOVED-
ONES OVERSEAS? PEOPLE WEREN’T RINGING STRANGERS IN GREECE.
SO WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT THE INTERNET AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIAL
CAPITAL AND VOLUNTEERISM?
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WHILST IT IS TRUE THAT THE INTERNET DID NOT CAUSE THE DECLINE IN
SOCIAL CAPITAL OF WHICH PUTNAM WRITES, IT IS HAVING AND CAN HAVE A
PROFOUND EFFECT ON THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL. AND THIS BRINGS
ME TO MY FINAL POINT.
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ACTIVITIES, CREATE AND TRADE ITEMS AND SERVICES FROM ONE
ANOTHER. ALL THIS TAKES PLACE IN A UNIVERSE CREATED FOR THAT
PURPOSE.
9
IN TERMS OF THE EFFECT OF THE INTERNET ON SOCIAL CAPITAL, I CAN SEE
A GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEMBERS OF A CLUB WHO INTERACT ON-
LINE BECAUSE OF A COMMON INTEREST AND PEOPLE CHOOSING TO
CREATE A VIRTUAL OTHER AND THEN INTERACT WITH OTHERS OUTSIDE
THEIR ACTUAL COMMUNITY.
TIME AND AGAIN THE INTERNET HAS BEEN CRITICIZED, MOST RECENTLY BY
KEEN, AS PROMOTING NOT JUST AN UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE BUT ACTUALLY
ENABLING THE BREAKDOWN OF THE ESTABLISHED MORES AND FABRIC OF
THE REAL WORLD.
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PUTNAM WAS PARTICULARLY CRITICAL OF THE ROLE OF TELEVISION
ENTERTAINMENT (NOT NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS) AS A FACTOR IN THE
DECLINE IN SOCIAL CAPITAL. HIS RESEARCH CONCLUDED THAT NOTHING
CORRELATES MORE STRONGLY TO CIVIC DISENGAGEMENT THAN
DEPENDENCE ON TELEVISION.
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OUT TRAWLING THE SINGLES BARS? CAN’T WE HAVE MEANINGFUL SOCIAL
INTERACTION IN CYBERSPACE IN OUR VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES? NO.
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MEETING OR RALLY, VOTING, WRITING TO THE NEWSPAPER AND
POLITICIANS) AND THEN SEE THAT IT IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT.
IN CONCLUSION, I WANT TO REMIND ALL OF YOU HERE THAT THE TIME YOU
SPEND VOLUNTEERING IS NOT INVALUABLE. IT HAS CONSIDERABLE VALUE.
WHETHER THE INTERNET WILL ASSIST OR HINDER YOUR EFFORTS AND
THOSE OF OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS IS, AT LEAST NOW, UNKNOWN.
HOWEVER, I HOPE THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU MORE THAN MORAL SUPPORT. I
HOPE THAT I HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT YOU PERFORM A CRITICAL
ACTIVITY IN THIS COMMUNITY AND THAT YOUR EFFORTS WILL LARGELY GO
UNREWARDED, PERHAPS NOTABLY BY THOSE AT HOME WATCHING
TELEVISION OR ON THE INTERNET.
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