Ray Oldenburg Crtique

A detailed Summary of Ray Oldenburg Crtique

Stress is a common problem in America today. The cause however, is often times debated. Ray Oldenburg, a sociologist at the University of West Florida, argues that the reason we (Americas) are stressed out is due to a lack of a third place. I couldn't agree more. Oldenburg's effective use of communication, his witty comments, and the examples that he uses apply to us today as much as they did in the past.

Oldenburg claims that American's lives are fragmented due to the lack of an informal social life. He argues that the automobile suburb ruined the informal social life by taking away the possibility of having a village pub or cafe that allows people to informally meet together. Oldenburg groups our lives into three places: the first place being home, the second place being work, and the third place being an informal social gathering place (such as a village pub or cafe). Because

Oldenburg's argument about technology depleting the informal social life is not new. In fact, this argument was clearly expressed by King Solomon in the book Ecclesiastes, "With much wisdom comes much sorrow." Thereby saying that the more we know, the more we produce: the more we will have sorrow. I believe that Oldenburg hit this point right on target when he says, "The home entertainment industry thrives on the death of an informal social life." There is a definite truth to that statement. Indeed, with the introduction of the television (during the time of modern suburban development) aided in the breakdown of the informal social life.

One of the very first arguments that Oldenburg makes is that Americans lack an informal social life. By saying this, Oldenburg is arguing that we do not have the type of social life that allows us to "bump" into each other, but instead, we must

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Approximate Word count = 597
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics

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