College Graduates Enjoy More Civic Engagement

At the turn of the century, a book titled “Bowling Alone” chronicled the decline of social capital and civic engagement in America, arguing that citizens had become disconnected from one another and were distancing themselves from the essential fabric of society such as families, churches, and friendship networks.

Almost 25 years later, the situation isn’t much better, claims a new report. But it turns out there’s one group of citizens who are more engaged with their communities and each other: college graduates.

In its new report, “Disconnected: The Growing Class Divide in American Civic Life,” the Survey Center on American Life says social engagement has “declined by every conceivable measure” since the mid-20th century.

Today, Americans have smaller social networks and fewer friends, the report points out, and spend less time in social situations. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy calls our time an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation.”

But not for everyone. It turns out Americans with college degrees have “robust social and friendship networks.” In fact, a college education is “the dividing line across nearly every domain of social capital we measure,” the report’s authors note.

This phenomenon, though, may have less to do with a college education itself and more to do with where college graduates live. They tend to reside in communities with “abundant civic opportunities and thriving civic cultures,” the report says.

That’s hardly surprising given that many professionals live in cities or suburbs and are less likely to live in rural communities where fewer such opportunities exist.

The report also chronicles a racial gap. Black Americans without college degrees, for instance, are “significantly more disconnected” than other groups.

“For Americans without degrees — particularly Black Americans — the civic opportunities, responsibilities, and relationships that imbue life with meaning seem increasingly out of reach,” the report concludes.

Just what are these civic opportunities and activities the report references?

College-educated Americans are more apt to visit public parks or gardens; go to libraries; and frequent fitness centers, coffee shops, bars, and restaurants.

They’re also twice as likely to have access to civic spaces in the first place.

Yet college graduates walk their neighborhoods more and converse more with their neighbors, activities that aren’t necessarily reserved for people living in the cities or suburbs, though extremely rural environments may not be conducive to neighborhoods per se.

While only 38% of white college graduates say they “seldom” or “never” talk with neighbors they don’t know well, 66% of Latino/a and 58% of Black college graduates report this kind of behavior.

College-educated Americans join hobby or activity groups, neighborhood associations, and sports leagues more frequently than non-graduates. They attend local meetings, participate in community events, and volunteer more often as well.

Those with postgraduate degrees are twice as likely as non-graduates to belong to a union.

And parents with college degrees more often become involved with parent groups and youth organizations and host neighbors for social gatherings. College graduates are more likely to be married in the first place.

Want more friends? Go to college. Overall, 17% of Americans say they have no close friends. Among those who didn’t go to college, that figure is 24%. For college graduates, it’s 10%. And the college-educated are twice as likely to have at least six close friends.

Those with degrees are more apt to have friends who could offer them a place to stay, give them a ride, loan them money, and provide emotional support in times of need.

The college-educated are also more likely to be members of religious congregations, even though membership remains popular among those who didn’t attend college. This divide is especially pronounced within the Black community, where 47% of college graduates belong to religious groups, whereas 30% of those with high school diplomas do.

With college enrollments dropping over the past decade, albeit ticking up slightly in the last academic year, does this mean more Americans will be bowling alone? If so, what are the implications?

From the perspective of the individual, assuming social connection leads to a happier life, as this report suggests, then we might anticipate that fewer college graduates means more isolation and less personal satisfaction.

In the macro sense, growing social apathy could, at the very least, reduce voting rates. Several studies point to low levels of civic literacy in K-12 schools and among college students, which doesn’t bode well for this generation’s future participation in the democratic process.

Yet the one positive takeaway from higher education’s perspective is that it bolsters the return on investment (ROI) case. Almost every attempt to measure college ROI focuses on short- and long-term financial rewards but fails to consider the intangible benefits such as those presented in this study.

If you want to be happier and healthier and live a longer, more prosperous life, go to college. How’s that for an ROI?