Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital?: Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment
Item
Title
Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital?: Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment
Abstract/Description
How does the Internet affect social capital? Do the communication possibilities of the Internet increase, decrease, or supplement interpersonal contact, participation, and community commitment? This evidence comes from a 1998 survey of 39,211 visitors to the National Geographic Society Web site, one of the first large-scale Web surveys. The authors find that people's interaction online supplements their face-to-face and telephone communication without increasing or decreasing it. However, heavy Internet use is associated with increased participation in voluntary organizations and politics. Further support for this effect is the positive association between offline and online participation in voluntary organizations and politics. However, the effects of the Internet are not only positive: The heaviest users of the Internet are the least committed to online community. Taken together, this evidence suggests that the Internet is becoming normalized as it is incorporated into the routine practices of everyday life.
Author/creator
Date
In publication
Volume
45
Issue
3
Pages
436-455
Resource type
Research/Scholarly Media
Medium
Print
Background/context type
Conceptual
Open access/free-text available
Yes
Peer reviewed
Yes
ISSN
0002-7642
Citation
Wellman, B., Haase, A. Q., Witte, J., & Hampton, K. (2001). Does the Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital?: Social Networks, Participation, and Community Commitment. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(3), 436–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027640121957286
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