Personal Communities and Lifestyle: The Role of Family, Friends and Neighbours

Betsy Blunsdon and Nicola McNeil

Chapter 7 in Ways of Living, 2010, pp 147-174 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Sociologists argue that changes in society’s institutional and traditional structures, since the 1960s, have resulted in a more ‘individualised’ society (Giddens, 1994; Beck, 1994; Beck and Lau, 2005). Proponents of this view suggest that individualisation diminishes the importance of blood family, often called ‘families of fate’, (Beck and Lau, 1995; Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 1995) while increasing the importance of chosen relationships, such as friends and families of choice (Weeks, Heaphy and Donovan, 2001; Goss, 1997). This chapter examines the influence that families, friends and neighbours have on individuals’ lives and lifestyle in the midst of this perceived propensity towards individualisation. A qualitative study, consisting of semi-structured interviews with 40 participants (20 telephone and 20 face-to-face interviews), was conducted in early 2008. In these interviews, individuals were asked to elaborate on the nature of their relationships with friends, family and neighbours, and discuss the meaning and significance of these relationships in their lives. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the nature of these relationships, and their influence on lifestyle decisions and outcomes. This chapter presents the results of an analysis of the twenty telephone interviews.

Keywords: Personal Community; Social Capital; Intimate Friendship; School Friend; Childhood Friend (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-27399-3_7

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230273993_7

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