The Black Hole of Social Capital

Shortly after my wife and I got married, we moved from the capital city of Cambodia to a small rural town in a provincial area. As a (relatively) young couple, we wanted to go out and have fun in the evenings, only to find out that in this little town, everything went quiet by about 7:00pm. It was as if the whole place shut down at dark. During that season of our lives, we spent a lot of time in front of the television! It became an easy, convenient way to relax and unwind at the end of the day. And there weren’t a lot of entertainment alternatives in sleepy little Kampong Cham.

That pattern of watching TV became quite a habit, and I developed a real taste for film and good television drama. So, the section of Putnam’s book which addressed television – and its deleterious effects on social capital – was by far the most personally challenging section of his work. Putnam (2000) says this: “dependence on television for entertainment is not merely a significant predictor of civic disengagement. It is the single most consistent predictor that I have discovered” (p. 231). Television as a form of entertainment is habit-forming, and it is not a healthy habit.

Photo credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

Perhaps even more convicting was the awareness that I have passed on the “TV bug” to my son. He’s a pretty well-balanced kid, but he does enjoy his time in front of the TV screen. Granted, he’s learned a lot from well-designed educational videos and TV programming, and he’s so energetic and active – even while watching – that the health detriments of sedentary TV viewing don’t really apply. But I have to wonder whether this is really a good pattern for raising a healthy, well-rounded child.

Is it possible to redeem television viewing? Maybe. I have been a part of a couple churches that had film discussion groups. Get together with a group of people, watch a thought-provoking film, and then discuss it afterwards. Perhaps that’s a way to satisfy the desire for some viewing pleasure and build social capital at the same time.

I don’t have a lot of time for watching TV these days anyway. (The long commute – remember?) So, I’ll probably continue to enjoy it when I can get it. But the basic rule of thumb is clear: if you want to build social capital, turn the TV off.