A cartoon doing the rounds on Twitter on Wednesday compared the
way we listen to music, watch films and read the news 15 years
ago to today. Now, of course, those are all things we do alone
while plugged in to a computer. Beyond the punchline, is there
some truth in the assumption that despite our hyper-
connectedness, we are potentially more isolated than ever?
Research by Pew claims that online social networks do provide
genuine emotional support and well-being, including advice,
information and companionship. Using an established system of
measuring well-being, Pew found that internet users felt it
provided significant emotional support for them, particularly
through social networks and particularly through Facebook.
There's an important distinction there; it was not that they
found that users of Facebook were better supported emotionally,
but that they reported that they felt they were, and in two key
categories of emotional support and companionship. Pew described
the sensation of well-being as equivalent