Oldenburg Vs. Putnam - Article the Third Place by Ray Oldenburg and the Article Turning In, Turning Out

Oldenburg vs. Putnam

The article The Third Place by Ray Oldenburg and the article Turning In, Turning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America by Robert Putnam, made some very good points. However, these articles have some points that are alike and that are different. Oldenburg’s article is about how Americans are no longer going to third places in which we make bonds with people from our community that make the community stronger. There are many factors as to why we do not go out to these third places. Things such as better luxuries for our homes, like the internet and air conditioning, make people not want to leave their houses. In Robert Putnam’s article he states that the main reason for people not going out into the community and creating the necessary bonds with people is because of television. Both of these articles make statements that are similar but are also very different in many ways.

Ray Oldenburg’s article states that we are less involved in our communities because of technology. With things like the internet, people are more prone to staying indoors than going outside and doings things like taking walks. Oldenburg even stated, “I spoke with a man the other day who regularly walks his dogs….Lately, he’s been seeing fewer of his neighbors and began asking what happened to them. The answer usually is they’re on the net.” Robert Putnam basically states the same thing. The only difference is he says it is because of the TV. In his article, he says the TV has made people less involved with their families, the community, and even has made people dumber. This is where Oldenburg’s and Putnam’s articles are very similar. In Oldenburg’s article he talks about how people have a place where they socialize or just get a cup of coffee before or after work. This is what Oldenburg calls a third place. If people are so infatuated with the luxuries of their homes like the internet or television, than they will hardly go out and have a third place to fulfill their “civic engagement” in socializing with people in their communities. This could also be the reason why third places are becoming rarer and rarer to find. For example, if it is true that the television and the internet are making people lazier, than this could be the reason why people do not want to go to a third place and sit down and have coffee. The laziness makes people just want to go to a chain fast food restaurant and go through the drive through. People even may not want to step out of the comforts of their home and they will just order a pizza. Fast food and chain restaurants are taking over for the small town restaurant, which may be someone’s third place. These small town restaurants can not compete with an O’Charlies or a McDonalds. This is why we are seeing less and less of the hospitality that we get in small town restaurants. At an O’Charlies or a McDonalds, employees try to rush