Social Implications of the Internet

Abstract

The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content. Current research tends to focus on the Internet's implications in five domains: 1) inequality (the "digital divide"); 2) community and social capital; 3) political participation; 4) organizations and other economic institutions; and 5) cultural participation and cultural diversity. A recurrent theme across domains is that the Internet tends to complement rather than displace existing media and patterns of behavior. Thus in each domain, utopian claims and dystopic warnings based on extrapolations from technical possibilities have given way to more nuanced and circumscribed understandings of how Internet use adapts to existing patterns, permits certain innovations, and reinforces particular kinds of change. Moreover, in each domain the ultimate social implications of this new technology depend on economic, legal, and policy decisions that are shaping the Internet as it becomes institutionalized. Sociologists need to study the Internet more actively and, particularly, to synthesize research findings on individual user behavior with macroscopic analyses of institutional and political-economic factors that constrain that behavior.

Tastes, ties, and time: A new social network dataset using Facebook.com

“…As the Internet in general and contemporary SNSs in particular play ever-greater roles in everyday life, virtual and "actual" communications, relationships, and identities become virtually indistinguishable-creating, in the process, a wealth of new opportunities for social scientific inquiry (Watts, 2007; see also DiMaggio et al, 2001;Adamic and Adar, 2003;Liben-Nowell et al, 2005;Kossinets and Watts, 2006;Leskovec and Horvitz, 2007).…”

The Position of the Youth in Political Participation

“…In a similar vein, whether the Internet affects political participation or not has been discussed by social scientists much. Though different ideas are put forward in this matter, some researchers argue that a new and different political participation emerges through information technology in this period when young generation do not participate in traditional politics (Della Porta and Mosca, 2005;DiMaggio et al, 2001;Norris, 2002).…”

A netsemlegesség - definíciók, törvényhozói, tartalomszolgáltatói, internetszolgáltatói és felhasználói olvasatok

“…Az internet nyitott természete abban is tetten érhető, hogy elősegíti a társadalmi kommunikációt és lehetőséget biztosít minden tagjának a megszólalásra azzal, hogy természeténél fogva alacsony belépési küszöbbel rendelkezik és alkalmas a kétirányú, many-to-many kommunikációra (DiMaggio et al, 2001;Wellman et al, 2001;Uslaner, 2004;Cummings -Craut, 2002). A netsemlegesség megszűnésével ezek a gyengén hallható hangok is eltűnnének.…”