No way! I totally vehemently disagree. Joining a sports team is ultimately a better solution. I have done both and here's a list why joining a sports team is better.
1. You'll experience pain and success as a team that strengthens the relationship with everyone
2. Politics may occur (eg:who gets benched and who gets the play when it counts the most). This will be a test of character and integrity which is vital for any future meaningful relationship. These are the types of relationships that you keep/survive when you stop playing the sport or when you've moved on to another team.
3. You'll workout and get some exercise. It's good for your health (duh)
4. You're most likely to be in a team where everyone is committed to seeing each other on a regular schedule until the season ends. Unlike volunteering, you may never see a person again after you have met them.
5. After a hard practice/game, you'll most likely go out for food/drinks. It'll be an opportunity for people to express themselves outside of the game.
6. You'll eventually find out who lives where and figure out a way to carpool to practice/games and back home. I have developed very meaningful relationships while carpooling. Conversations get deeper and more honest when you're have a 1-to-1 conversation.
The article isn't called "Volunteering: Literally The Only Solution to Loneliness". It's a solution to loneliness, and one that happens to have positive externalities that accompany it. You can think that sports are a good way to combat loneliness without vehemently disagreeing that volunteering is a solution as well.
Sure if volunteering works for some people, then great!
I'm just saying I have spent a lot of time doing both, and joining a sports team is just more effective if you're trying to make friends. Virtually everyone that joins a team is there to make friends, have fun and maybe get fit. Another unrelated reason is if they are there to compete at the professional level which is totally different situation.
That's a... strange thing to "totally vehemently disagree" with.
For one, it's not an option for everyone, particularly the less able bodied. But more importantly, being the weak link in sports team can actually be a very isolating and lonely experience. Even if it's a casual/intramural setting, if you suck at the sport and are actively causing your team to lose, you will more than likely not have a good time and will not feel more connected to people, even if they make a good faith effort to make you feel welcome and included despite you being a detriment to the team.
Source: I joined a casual sports team to be less lonely, and ended up feeling socially worse off for it. Not saying that will be everyones experience, but I would "totally vehemently disagree" that it's an unequivocally better option than volunteering.
"I joined a casual sports team to be less lonely, and ended up feeling socially worse off for it." - You joined the wrong team/sport. Don't let that one experience damage you as a person. I challenge you to try again. There's a sport and team for everyone. It's sort of like dating. You need to find one that matches you and when you find it, it's awesome.
"For one, it's not an option for everyone, particularly the less able bodied". I was speaking in general that apply to the masses. You can't take every advice you hear and apply it blindly - you need some way to filter out all the advice in this world, including this one. I have strong opinions about this topic and feel free to reject it. This my part of offering my wisdom/experience and I hope it'll save people time and heartache. I'm not offering any guarantees though. Nothing is guaranteed!
"You're meeting people of the same gender, not a mixed group usually" - I dont know the exact stats and I don't care. If you tried hard enough, you can find a mixed group
"No time or patience for politics" - then you have no patience for human relationships as well. Politics is inevitable in every organization/company/team/community. Some say it's better to learn and fuck up in a sports team than in your company.
"(Some) sports usually attract overly competitive people who don't know (or don't care about) basic civility" - that's a pretty bold statement. You can find rec teams in almost every sport that don't attract the hard asses and the overly committed.
"Level/skills differences" - the difference is not the issue. People being assholes and stuckup is the issue. Don't play for those teams
"(I agree with the carpooling commentary though)" - I agree
How can you generalize like this and say one is better than the other?
For me, religion sucks. But religion works for many people. For some, volunteering may be the best option and for some, sports. There is no one size fits all, one is better than the other solution.
People might decide to do more than one, depending on their mood (why not volunteering and sports?) - I don't think problems like loneliness has a one size fits all solution
You're focusing too hard into the "process" of sport without looking at the "outcome".
When you're volunteering, you see that person or cause or community thrive. The confidence boost that it gives you when you give food to someone is incomparable to having a team lunch chatter.
Get out of the process thinking and look at the outcome of what it does.
Dont disagree. I have been doing BJJ the past 2 years and currently have a blue belt. It has meaning for me in a way that running on a treadmill or playing ultimate frisbee... You get to know people in a specific way and develop a trust - its a great feeling. Different than volunteering though.
Ahem, I'm not sure where you volunteered, but I have every single one of those benefits in my local students union. (Except maybe number three, but that could be arranged if I wanted to.)
1. You'll experience pain and success as a team that strengthens the relationship with everyone
2. Politics may occur (eg:who gets benched and who gets the play when it counts the most). This will be a test of character and integrity which is vital for any future meaningful relationship. These are the types of relationships that you keep/survive when you stop playing the sport or when you've moved on to another team.
3. You'll workout and get some exercise. It's good for your health (duh)
4. You're most likely to be in a team where everyone is committed to seeing each other on a regular schedule until the season ends. Unlike volunteering, you may never see a person again after you have met them.
5. After a hard practice/game, you'll most likely go out for food/drinks. It'll be an opportunity for people to express themselves outside of the game.
6. You'll eventually find out who lives where and figure out a way to carpool to practice/games and back home. I have developed very meaningful relationships while carpooling. Conversations get deeper and more honest when you're have a 1-to-1 conversation.
Updated - fixed spelling/grammar