Back in 2000, the book Bowling Alone, written by the political scientist Robert Putnam, argued that American participation in groups, clubs, and organizations—religious, cultural, or otherwise—had precipitously dropped, as had the “social cohesion” that sprang from regular participation in them. Putnam’s findings were controversial and contested, and many argued that community had simply shifted locations: maybe no one was going to bowling league, but they were hanging out online (in AOL chatrooms, on message boards) instead. Twenty years later, and our burnout levels, like our political and
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