Do you live in a neighborhood? A block or two or three where you know the neighbors’ names, perhaps even some of their interests?
A long time ago, before I was old enough to even attend school, I remember when neighbors would come over to visit after supper. We lived in an older suburb, and in the hot summer, the adults sat on porch chairs and talked. I listened, perched on a step. In colder weather, they gathered in our living room, and I listened, sprawled on the floor, next to my mom’s chair.
I don’t have a lot of memory of what they talked about—possibly about current events, like what the Soviets were doing in Europe. Or maybe they talked about elections or the growing student population in the local elementary school. Maybe they argued—surely they had different opinions about the world—but I remember the atmosphere as being collegial and—well, neighborly.
After a few years, the neighborly chats stopped. Not because of any disagreements or bad feelings. They stopped because people began staying home to watch the new invention called television.
Maybe portable phones and other electronic devices have merely increased what is inevitable. We’re able to do more and more without leaving home or taking time for personal contact with actual people. Banking, communicating, entertainment—we do all these activities more often without leaving our homes.
Certainly, Americans without good jobs may live in crowded conditions—or even on the street—but typical middle class Americans live less and less with families or friends. Yes, some of us do have active social lives, but families are smaller, less of us are involved in the local school, the children tend to leave while still in their teens, and more of us live alone. Even our communication tends to be impersonal—often over the computer. And actual visits to neighbors become rare for many of us.
It’s supposed to be an advantage to take care of banking and bills and other transactions from the comfort of our homes. But it means we meet less and less with others even when performing these chores.
What spaces are left for humans to actually meet in person? Some of us still work in offices or visit shopping centers. Children still need teachers. Political meetings may include in person attendance—but often include electronic attendees as well. Those of us attending religious services may still be more likely to do so in person, although the Covid pandemic increased meetings via the internet.
It’s perfectly all right, of course, to seek ways to “save” time. Busy parents, often working, need all the help they can get to have time for their families.
Nevertheless, the idea of neighborhood has become, for many of us, a foreign concept.