Saturday, January 31, 2009


My 31 Year Old Friend

When thinking about bridging social capital I was pleased to realize that I do so. I have a couple of friends that are over 30 years old. Often times I feel like people focus too much on finding friends their own age when really you can have strong friendships with people of many different ages. We are all human beings and something as silly as how long we have inhabited the earth shouldn't keep us apart. In fact, by becoming friends with people of all ages we bring our world closer together because we begin to understand how and why people of different generations think what they do. A greater understanding of one another is created through diverse friendships therefore bringing about a better understanding of the world. In this interview I ask 31 year old Erin F. about social capital in her life.

When you were my age how socially active were you?

I wasn't very socially active because I had a hard time finding people like myself. I was very busy with school work and my college didn't really offer that many clubs or groups to be a part of. I was, however, part of the tennis team.

Are you apart of any clubs or groups now? Why or why not?

Yes, I belong to a tennis league but I don't really hang out with people outside of tennis. We don't really have any other interests in common other than tennis. I don't really search out clubs because I find group activities annoying. I work better on my own and have always been more of a home body. My older sister, on the other hand, is very social. She is always attending some sort of event and has a lot of friends. For me, I go for quality rather than quantity and would rather have 1-3 close friends.

How many hours a day do you spend watching t.v. or being online? Do you think this affects how socially active you are?

Probably 2-3 hours a day. A lot of computer activity is work stuff. I don't think it really affects me socially. Some people may see it as a way to avoid the outside world but I don't. Sometimes watching t.v. shows can actually give you something to talk about with your friends!

Do you know the names of your neighbors? How often do you see them?

I know the names of 1 of my neighbors. I think the last time I saw them was last spring. I do chat with them if I see them but our schedules are different so it doesn't really work out for me to see them. I am not really that outgoing when it comes to my neighbors.

Have you ever participated in a political event like a rally?

No, not a rally but I do vote.

Do you think being socially active was more important when you were a teenager than it is now?

Yeah, because I don't think people feel that it is as safe to do things like go outside and see your neighbors anymore. I think the generation right below me has less social skills because of the introduction of technology. I feel like your generation has a very indirect way of being social because of technology like cell phones where you can text message everything.

3 comments:

  1. I completely concur that being friends with many different age groups would help bridge social capital. I have friends that are 5 years younger than me, and I have friends that are 40 years older than me, and I enjoy spending time with them and everyone in between. If people would take the time to make friends who are in different generations, we could all understand each other a little more. Instead of being those "noisy teenagers" or those "old farts" we can just be a community.

    -Gentry

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  2. It's interesting to see how the opinions of a woman only 15 or so years older than us can be so different from our own. I noticed that she doesn't consider herself to be a part of the "technology generation" although she spends two or three hours daily on the computer. She hypothesizes that our generation is less politically active than her own because of our comfort with indirect forms of communication brought about by new technology. I'm inclined to agree with her, and I'm wondering if this could be a valid argument.

    Eve Jacobs

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  3. Yo! Yo! Yes, what a great gift to have a friend of a different generation. It seems like you have a lot to teach each other. Thanks for the insights into this unusual friendship!

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