We investigate the relationships between participation to social net- works and hours worked in the market. we provide a model of con- sumer choice where social networks may be either a substitute or a complement to material consumption – according to weather the par- ticipation to a social network is instrumentally or non-instrumentally motivated – and where a greater average local participation to social networks increases the rewards to individual participation. we carry out an empirical investigation of this framework using survey data for the united states in the period 1972-2004. we find that participation to non-instrumental networks substantially decreases the hours worked, while participation to instrumental networks substantially increases them. moreover, evidence is consistent with local positive spillovers to individual participation.