Participation in bowling leagues, golf outings and fraternal organizations has dropped significantly in recent decades. What are the implications for independent agents, who typically serve in a number of volunteer capacities in their communities?
Many Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and even millennials can remember when their parents belonged to golf, softball and bowling leagues.
Often, employers helped sponsor these activities as a way for employees to spend time together and get to know their colleagues from different parts of the company, posting results on the bulletin board in the lunch room and generating good-natured competition in the workplace.
But nobody has time for the company softball league anymore. Participation in these leagues has dropped significantly: For example, the number of Americans participating in bowling leagues declined 40% in 1980-1993 as reported by political scientist Robert Putnam, whose 2000 book “Bowling Alone” tracks American’s dwindling civic engagement.
Fewer Americans are playing golf, too: The National Golf Foundation reports 25.3 million golfers in the U.S. in 2012, down from 25.7 million in 2011 and 26.1 million in 2010. The biggest drop-off in players is among the younger generation, with 200,000 players under the age of 35 leaving the game last year. As a result, 12-hole golf courses have become a hot topic, especially after Jack Nicklaus told Golf Digest in 2007: "We should consider the possibility of making 12 holes the standard round. Eventually it would be accepted because it makes sense in people's lives."
It’s not just sports participation that is suffering declines. Fraternal organizations also witnessed a substantial drop in membership during the 1980s and 1990s: Membership was down significantly in such groups as the Lions (12% since 1983), the Elks (18% since 1979), the Shriners (27% since 1979), the Jaycees (44% since 1979) and the Masons (39% since 1959). By almost every measure, Americans' direct engagement in politics and government has fallen steadily and sharply over the last generation, despite the fact that average levels of education—the best individual-level predictor of political participation—have risen sharply throughout this period. Every year over the last decade or two, millions more have withdrawn from the affairs of their communities.
After expanding steadily throughout most of this century, many major civic organizations have experienced a sudden, substantial and nearly simultaneous decline in membership over the last decade or two. What’s responsible?
According to The Center for American Progress, more than 85.5% of males and 66.5% of females work more than 40 hours per week (not counting an hour for lunch). Americans work 270 hours more than British workers, 300 hours more than Australian workers and nearly 500 hours more than French workers each year.
What’s the lesson for independent insurance agents, who typically serve in a number of volunteer capacities in their communities? Community involvement and networking will always have a place in introducing people to the agency’s services. But agencies must also complement those avenues with digital marketing, providing consumers with relevant content about insurance topics and a focused outreach. To reach people who spend more time online and less in activities, agents must adapt.
Dave Evans is a certified financial planner and an IA contributor.
