1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910779832303321

Autore

Katz James Everett

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : MIT Press, ©2002

ISBN

1-282-09651-6

9786612096518

0-262-25650-9

0-585-43498-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (486 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

RiceRonald E

Disciplina

303.48/33/0973

Soggetti

Internet - Social aspects - United States

Digital divide - United States

Telecommunication - Social aspects - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

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

Nota di contenuto

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

Sommario/riassunto

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.