Social consequences of Internet use : access, involvement, and interaction / James E. Katz and Ronald E. Rice.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Katz, James Everett.

Contributor:

Rice, Ronald E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects--United States.

Internet.

Digital divide--United States.

Digital divide.

Telecommunication--Social aspects--United States.

Telecommunication.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (486 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Drawing on nationally representative telephone surveys conducted from 1995 to 2000, James Katz and Ronald Rice offer a rich and nuanced picture of Internet use in America. Using quantitative data, as well as case studies of Web sites, they explore the impact of the Internet on society from three perspectives: access to Internet technology (the digital divide), involvement with groups and communities through the Internet (social capital), and use of the Internet for social interaction and expression (identity). To provide a more comprehensive account of Internet use, the authors draw comparisons across media and include Internet nonusers and former users in their research. The authors call their research the Syntopia Project to convey the Internet's role as one among a host of communication technologies as well as the synergy between people's online activities and their real-world lives. Their major finding is that Americans use the Internet as an extension and enhancement of their daily routines. Contrary to media sensationalism, the Internet is neither a utopia, liberating people to form a global egalitarian community, nor a dystopia-producing armies of disembodied, lonely individuals. Like any form of communication, it is as helpful or harmful as those who use it.

Contents:

Contents ; List of Boxes, Tables, and Figures; Preface; 1 America and the Internet: Access, Involvement, and Social Interaction; I - Access; 2 Access: Basic Issues and Prior Evidence; 3 Access and Digital Divide: Results; 4 Logging Off: Internet Dropouts; 5 Access and Digital Divide Examples; II - Civic and Community Involvement; 6 Civic and Community Involvement: Basic Issues and Prior Evidence; 7 Political Involvement: Survey Results; 8 Community Involvement: Survey Results; 9 Involvement Examples: Evidence for an ''Invisible Mouse''?; III - Social Interaction and Expression

10 Social Interaction and Expression: Basic Issues and Prior Evidence 11 Social Interaction: Survey Results; 12 Interaction and Expression: Self, Identity, and Homepages; 13 Interaction and Expression Examples; IV Integration and Conclusion; 14 Access, Involvement, Interaction, and Social Capital on the Internet: Digital Divides and Digital Bridges; Appendixes; A Methodology; B Descriptive Statistics from Surveys; References; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Made available online by Ebrary.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [411]-438) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-09651-6

9786612096518

0-262-25650-9

0-585-43498-0

OCLC:

51937985

Publisher Number:

ebc3338836