Bowling for YouTube

Eight years ago Robert D. Putnam published a groundbreaking book, Bowling Alone, based on astonishing facts – we are becoming society disconnected from social capital. What has caused this decline? Putnam names a number of explanations, ranging from air-conditioning and indoor plumbing to suburbia and even the rise of television.

Entertainment may keep people from becoming socially active, but video sharing creates a new genre of social capital.
Photo: Jessica Reber

But here we are facing the dawn of the YouTube era. Wouldn't Mr. Putnam's opinion of viral video effects be interesting today?

Putnam would probably explain the YouTube phenomenon as such: The entertainment value that YouTube offers gives consumers a want, similar to that of eating a "sugary cereal" for breakfast. But news gives consumers what they need, intervening with a "healthy breakfast."

Young adults are especially prone to "Cap 'N Crunch YouTube" and avoiding "bran muffin news.' Author David Mindich said young Americans don't have any interest in news. Young people use the Internet primarily for satisfying personal wishes. Rarely, do they use it to satisfy the demands of good citizenry.

But this is what I don't understand: Mindich and Putnam agree there is a direct relationship with those who are not as socially involved and find news irrelevant in their lives.

So if YouTube fluff is keeping young adults from following the news, how can you explain the record number of young voters in the 2008 campaign? Maybe young adults are actually using YouTube to surf a candidate's channel or view past debates. Is it really a shame that internet video sites are changing American politics for the better?

The majority of YouTube videos may be mindless rubbish that occupy hours of our "valuable" time. However, more news corporations are reinventing themselves, posting newscasts to YouTube each day. At least now we have an option of what to watch, and how far we want to dive into the subject.