USA Today
December 8, 2010
By Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY Updated 12/08/2010 An overwhelming majority of Americans say it’s important for them to be involved in their community amid concern that technological gadgets and harried schedules are fraying human connections, a new USA TODAY/Gallup poll shows. Almost half say it’s ”very important” and 41% say it’s ”somewhat important,” according to the Oct. 21–24 poll. ”I would go for being able to have a nice, over–the–fence conversation over barely nodding to each other,” says Josh Pointer, 32, of Springfield, Ill. ”You want to help out the people that you live next to to make things as nice as possible. The back you scratch today is connected to the hand that scratches your back tomorrow.” The sentiment cuts across most educational, gender and regional lines, according to the poll of 1,021 adults. ”There’s a growing interest across all sectors from businesses to regular citizens in being more involved,” says Jonathan Weiss, director of sustainability at ManTech International, a global consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va. Weiss sees it in the growing push for sustainable communities places where people work together to create a sound economic, environmental and social climate. ”Broad–based local involvement is key to having a thriving sustainable community,” he says. ”New social networking and Web 2.0 tools have allowed more and more community residents to come together.” A recent survey of 895 Internet experts shows that despite worries that technology creates a social disconnect, the social benefits of Internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade. The survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that online tools offer ”low–friction” opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives. Tough economic times and mounting anti–government sentiment may fuel the desire to get involved. ”Think about the national debates that are happening,” says Chris Hoene, director of the center for research and innovation at the National League of Cities. ”On the one hand, there’s discussion about anti–government. On the other side, there is this kind of underlying populism out there, people wanting to be more engaged in what government is doing or not doing.” Cities, faced with cutting their budgets, are reaching out to residents to help them through the economic crunch. ”They’re having to make very tough choices between services they provide and how those services are funded,” Hoene says. ”They can make these decisions in a vacuum, or they can actually take the decisions to the citizens themselves.” Efforts such as Connecting with the Community in Longmont, Colo., and Portsmouth Listens in Portsmouth, N.H., have engaged residents who might not have gotten involved otherwise. ”It builds community social capital,” says Jim Noucas, co–chair of Portsmouth Listens. ”Having that piece of ownership in the decision–making process has significant impact on community involvement.”