I think there are variations in American culture that are not covered here. For example, when somebody asks "what do you do" in Boulder, Colorado, they might be asking which outdoor sport do you do when you're not working. When somebody asks the same question in a city like Boston or NYC, they're asking about your job.

I'm not judging here, that's not to say Boulderites are slackers or East Coasters only care about work, just saying that I think the comparisons made in this article don't apply to the whole country.