The net result has been the death of the “pop-in,” to recruit a term of Jerry Seinfeld’s, whereby the Kramers and Elaines of the world show up unexpectedly at your doorstep bearing gossip and harmless, unhurried conversation. In the mid- to late seventies, the average American entertained friends at home fourteen to fifteen times per year, according to Bowling Alone; by the late nineties, that number had split nearly in half, to eight.
Community is really important, and the way american lives (part. suburbs) are laid out as well as social structure make casual conversations harder to come by. Some people notice the lack of this when they go from dorm apartment life to post-college.
