Overprotective parents who drive their offspring everywhere and discourage them from playing in the street are helping to leech communities of one of their greatest social lubricants, says social researcher Hugh Mackay.
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The question of where all the children have gone is given attention in Mackay’s latest appraisal of the world around him, The Art of Belonging.
The book points to the falling birthrate and the high number of marriages that end in divorce - resulting in more than 500,000 children making weekly or fornightly migration from one house to another - as factors that have contributed to the disruption of childrens’ "vital" role in communities.
"Children have traditionally acted as a sort of social lubricant - the kids get to know each other first, then the families get to know one another through the kids,’’ Mackay said.
‘‘At the moment we are producing such a small generation of kids that that social lubricant is not so readily obtainable.
‘‘When the birthrate falls, parents tend to be more protective - the helicopter parent is a phenomenon of a low-birthrate society ... so we have to think of other ways to get to know people.’’
Mackay, an honorary professor of social science at UOW, will host a free launch event for The Art of Belonging on campus Friday night.
In an approach that seems referential to the human touch he has come to advocate, the event includes a leisurely Q&A session with the author, before signings.
Mackay’s book suggests an erosion of community - of belonging - has occurred as a result of multiple social develolpments - everything from the growing number of people living alone, to universal car ownership (‘‘it means less footpath traffic, less opportunity to run into your neighour’’) to the technical revolution (‘‘We make ourselves more vulnerable to each other - we give more away in person. When we’re online it’s easier to keep it under control’’).
He creates a fictional suburb, Southwood, whose residents serve to illustrate the human interactions and conflicts that arise in communities where members assert their own needs at the expense of others.
Ultimately, Mackay argues, people want to live in neighbourhoods where they feel physically safe and emotionally secure.
But they need to make a contribution beyond the joining of sports clubs, churches and school communitities, by forging connections among those with whom they ‘‘literaly share common ground’’.
‘‘We have to introduce ourselves to people, and make eye contact and say hello and say: ‘it looks like rain’ or ‘the bus is late again’,’’ Mackay said.
‘‘All these things seem trivial but are the glue that binds a neighbourhood together.’’
The launch event is at University Hall from 6pm-8.30pm.
Email soc-events@uow.edu.au to RSVP.
