Our disconnected future: Modern life sees less participation in community

Sarah Schulman works with online platform Kudoz, which matches people with developmental disabilities with volunteers who have a few hours to spare and a common interest such as a love for horror movies or Ethiopian cuisine.

“It’s a sharing economy, not unlike what you see on Uber or Airbnb, but (it) is not just a transaction,” Schulman said.

“People decide where they would like to meet in an intentional way, in a civic space or at a park or in a course.”

Schulman and other researchers spent three months living at a social housing complex in Burnaby and found people were having the same conversations — “on repeat, like (in the movie) Groundhog Day,” Schulman said — that in their lives there wasn’t a source of novelty.

“We thought about how to build friendships by saying, ‘Wow, did you know the person in (Room) 204 shares your love of some kind of niche comedy?’” she said.

The site is in its first year.

It’s relatively small, with 500 volunteers who offer 180 experiences — a guitar-playing session, taking a yoga class at the community centre together, going to a festival — at any given time.

It’s an idea that could be applied to others in the city — new immigrants, refugees, introverts — who might appreciate “a bridge into things,” Schulman said.

Five years ago, the Vancouver Foundation said half of Vancouver residents find it hard to make friends and one in four find themselves “alone more often than they would like.” A more recent survey, released Wednesday, reported an improvement in these areas, with just 14 per cent feeling lonely often or always. But there were “surprising” drops in the way residents were participating in community life, the foundation found.

While 83 per cent said they visited their local library, community or recreation centre in 2012, only 58 per cent did in 2017. Some 43 per cent said they attended a cultural or ethnic event put on by a group different from their own in 2012, but this fell to 20 per cent in

2017. The number who said they participated in a neighbourhood or community project fell from 23 per cent in 2012 to nine per cent.

The report cites various reasons: 51 per cent of respondents say they lack the time, 22 per cent say they don’t have enough money and 32 per cent say they aren’t aware of opportunities or activities.

It asks: “Has life speeded up in the last five years? Why aren’t we more aware of opportunities to connect? Our survey doesn’t tell us. But with the explosion of connected devices and social media, we’re sure it has never been easier to find out more about activities in your area.”

Aside from the reported reasons, there might be something more

intangible. Our interactions, the report said, tend to be friendly but reserved, with 73 per cent saying they interact in community spaces by smiling.

Less than half say they are willing to respond to a question from a stranger and only 23 per cent are willing to ask a question or start a chat.

Schulman said a careful brokering of common interests can be a spark for getting people involved in their community or using facilities and resources.

“We have a host who loves photographing trees,” she said, “and they have been going out into parks to take photos together and using the park system.”