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Use of internet makes people socially active
By siliconindia
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Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 19:06 IST |
2 Comments
Bangalore: A report in 1996 by U.S. sociologists concluded that since 1985, Americans have become more socially isolated and have smaller and less diverse discussion networks. The study suggested that new technologies, such as the internet and mobile phones, may have contributed to the trend. But this fact may not be true. According to the latest report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, internet use does not foster social isolation, but actually enhances the size and diversity of people's social networks, reported the InformationWeek.
However, the Pew study found that six percent of the adult population doesn't anyone with whom to discuss important matters, which is unchanged since 1985. And while the average size of Americans' core discussion networks has dropped by about a third, that isn't the case among people who use the internet and social networking services, such as Facebook.
The Pew study found that compared to non-users the average size of core discussion networks is 12 percent larger amongst mobile phone users, nine percent larger for people who share photos online and nine percent bigger for those who use instant messaging. Also, mobile phone users tend to have core networks that are 25 percent more diverse, while internet users' networks are 15 percent more likely to include non-kin discussion partners.
The study also says that people who use the internet to upload photos to share online are 61 percent more likely to have discussion partners who cross political lines, and frequent at home internet users were 53 percent more likely to have a confidant of a different race.
On the contrary, the report also found out that people who use Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and other social networking services are 30 percent less likely to know at least some neighbors.
Also, internet users are 42 percent more likely to visit a public park or plaza and 45 percent more likely to visit a coffee shop or cafe. "It is clear that people shape technology far more than the other way around," the Pew study concluded. "For this reason, our survey results suggest that people's lives are likely to be enhanced by participation with new communication technologies, rather than by fearing that their use of new technology will send them into a spiral of isolation."
The Pew Internet and American Life Project's "Personal Networks and Community Survey" was based on telephone interviews with 2,512 adults between July 9, 2008, and August 10, 2008. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research International.
