Q&A with the Author

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

So what is an urban tribe?

Ethan Watters: “Urban tribes” describes the social networks of friends we create in cities. While tribes can include married couples, they’re usually composed of those who have delayed marriage into their late twenties, thirties and forties. For a time, these tribes can replace our families as our primary social support system. We have inner-connected relationships with people in our tribes, we create rituals with them. Sometimes these rituals are as simple as eating dinner every week at the same restaurant or taking a Memorial Day hiking trip, but these repeated activities result in a sense of group history. Because of this shared history, urban tribes can lose members over time and gain new ones and still feel like the same group.

Why did you feel the need to write a book about this time of life?

Watters: My generation has delayed marriage longer than any generation in American history and everyone seems to be nervous about what this means. Parents worry that we’ll never have families of our own and we sometimes fear that our lives have fallen off track. The never-marrieds haven’t had a positive story to tell themselves, and that’s made them very anxious. When people understand that they are not alone in delaying marriage – when their lives get put in a context like urban tribes – they seem to feel much better.

Sounds like these people are kind of self-absorbed and whiny. Is that a fair rap?

INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

So what is an urban tribe?

Ethan Watters: “Urban tribes” describes the social networks of friends we create in cities. While tribes can include married couples, they’re usually composed of those who have delayed marriage into their late twenties, thirties and forties. For a time, these tribes can replace our families as our primary social support system. We have inner-connected relationships with people in our tribes, we create rituals with them. Sometimes these rituals are as simple as eating dinner every week at the same restaurant or taking a Memorial Day hiking trip, but these repeated activities result in a sense of group history. Because of this shared history, urban tribes can lose members over time and gain new ones and still feel like the same group.

Why did you feel the need to write a book about this time of life?

Watters: My generation has delayed marriage longer than any generation in American history and everyone seems to be nervous about what this means. Parents worry that we’ll never have families of our own and we sometimes fear that our lives have fallen off track. The never-marrieds haven’t had a positive story to tell themselves, and that’s made them very anxious. When people understand that they are not alone in delaying marriage – when their lives get put in a context like urban tribes – they seem to feel much better.

Sounds like these people are kind of self-absorbed and whiny. Is that a fair rap?

Comments

[issac]

I am a student of architecture , curruntly working on a housing project , aimed to accomodate urban tribe individuals .
I would appreciate it if anyone has any ideas regarding the lifestyle of such an individual , to share with me.

(appartments planned for this specific population , thirty year olds living in a community building , possibaly as roomates....)
thanks.

[kathleen]

Is there already a tribe established in my area that I could hook up with? I live in Redlands, California...

[addie]

when i go to read more, it just takes me to google.