American

Behavioral

Scientist

Introduction

The

Internet

in

Everyday

Life

CAROLINE

HAYTHORNTHWAITE

American

Behavioral

Scientist

DOI

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Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

Introduction

The

Internet

in

Everyday

Life

CAROLINE

HAYTHORNTHWAITE

University

of

Illinois

at

Urbana-Champaign

The

increasing

presence

of

the

Internet

in

our

everyday

life

raises

important

questions

about

what

it

means

for

access

to

resources

social

interaction

and

commitment

to

local

community

This

special

issue

of

the

American

Behavioral

Scientist

brings

together

seven

U.S.

one

U.K.

one

Canadian

and

one

North

American

study

that

examine

the

way

in

which

the

Internet

competes

with

and

complements

everyday

life

These

studies

show

the

Internet

as

a

complex

landscape

of

applications

purposes

and

users

This

introduction

summarizes

results

from

studies

in

this

issue

and

other

extant

recent

surveys

providing

an

overview

of

the

Internet

population

and

its

activities

statistics

that

help

define

and

articulate

the

nature

of

the

digital

divide

The

authors

move

from

there

to

consideration

of

the

social

consequences

of

adding

Internet

activity

to

our

daily

lives

exploring

how

use

of

the

Internet

affects

traditional

social

and

communal

behaviors

such

as

communication

with

local

family

and

commitment

to

geographical

communities

They

conclude

with

a

look

at

how

these

studies

reveal

the

integration

of

the

Internet

into

our

everyday

lives

The

Internet

that

brave

new

cyberworld

is

it

drawing

us

away

from

everyday

life

or

adding

layers

of

connectivity

and

opportunity

Is

it

supporting

new

forms

of

human

relationships

or

reproducing

existing

patterns

of

behavior

These

questions

challenge

us

to

build

a

picture

of

Internet

use

that

separates

the

impact

of

the

Internet

from

our

existing

behaviors

yet

integrates

its

use

with

these

behaviors

Much

existing

research

on

computer

mediated

communication

-LRB-

CMC

-RRB-

and

online

behavior

has

laid

out

differences

between

CMC

and

face-to-face

communication

and

provided

in-depth

reports

on

online

communities

Whereas

important

research

has

been

done

from

this

perspective

its

concentration

on

CMC

versus

face-to-face

online

versus

offline

and

virtual

versus

real

has

perpetuated

a

dichotomized

view

of

human

behavior

These

dichotomies

pit

one

form

of

CMC

against

another

for

example

synchronous

chat

versus

asynchronous

communication

-LRB-

e.g.

e-mail

-RRB-

and

text

versus

graphics

as

well

as

one

category

of

human

endeavor

against

another

such

as

computer

use

at

work

versus

home

online

content

for

adults

versus

children

and

computer

and

Internet

users

and

nonusers

A

growing

body

of

research

including

the

articles

in

this

special

issue

is

now

examining

more

integrative

views

of

CMC

looking

at

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

Vol

No.

November

2001 363-382

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use

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unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

how

online

time

and

use

fits

with

and

complements

other

aspects

of

an

ual

's

everyday

life

A

few

large

and

important

trends

are

making

it

difficult

to

continue

to

interpret

the

impact

of

the

Internet

in

isolation

from

people

's

everyday

lives

First

we

have

a

rapid

increase

in

the

number

of

users

gaining

access

to

and

using

the

Internet

For

example

Katz

Rice

and

Aspden

-LRB-

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

found

of

their

sample

using

the

Internet

in

-LRB-

sample

of

adults

in

the

United

States

-RRB-

and

in

-LRB-

adults

-RRB-

Second

those

who

are

using

the

Internet

are

showing

an

increasing

exposure

and

commitment

to

Internet-based

activity

They

spend

more

time

online

and

do

more

types

of

things

the

more

years

that

they

continue

to

use

it

-LRB-

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

Estimates

put

the

average

American

using

the

Internet

more

than

hours

a

week

-LRB-

UCLA

Center

for

Communication

Policy

-LSB-

CCP

-RSB-

-RRB-

Although

a

large

proportion

of

that

use

can

be

attributed

to

work

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

a

third

trend

shows

increasing

the

domestication

of

the

Internet

that

is

the

presence

of

the

Internet

in

the

home

-LRB-

Kraut

Kiesler

Mukhopadhyay

Scherlis

Patterson

-RRB-

These

three

trends

combine

with

other

societal

pressures

to

blur

the

boundaries

between

domains

of

activity

Such

pressures

include

longer

work

hours

-LRB-

to

of

those

using

the

Internet

more

than

hour

a

week

report

they

are

working

longer

hours

-RRB-

-LRB-

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

use

of

the

Internet

in

conjunction

with

school

work

by

adult

learners

university

students

and

households

with

children

-LRB-

with

the

presence

of

children

in

the

household

cited

as

a

key

reason

many

adults

will

invest

in

computers

and

Internet

access

-RRB-

-LRB-

Kraut

Kiesler

et

al.

Statistics

Canada

-RRB-

and

a

need

to

keep

up

reported

by

nonusers

as

the

number

one

reason

for

becoming

an

Internet

user

-LRB-

Katz

Aspden

-RRB-

This

special

issue

of

the

American

Behavioral

Scientist

brings

together

seven

U.S.

one

U.K.

one

Canadian

and

one

North

American

study

of

the

Internet

in

everyday

life

The

overall

term

the

Internet

must

be

used

with

caution

one

can

often

observe

a

kind

of

garbage

can

model

being

used

as

the

Internet

becomes

a

receptacle

for

fame

and

infamy

relating

to

any

electronic

activity

or

societal

change

Although

the

term

is

still

used

the

authors

in

this

issue

take

an

integrative

approach

to

assessing

this

social

phenomenon

using

empirical

data

on

Internet

use

They

show

that

the

Internet

is

a

complex

landscape

of

applications

and

purposes

as

well

as

users

and

should

be

studied

that

way

They

have

in

common

the

acceptance

of

the

wholeness

of

human

experience

and

the

idea

that

the

Internet

can

not

be

separated

from

ongoing

activity

The

work

to

be

done

is

to

build

a

picture

that

situates

Internet

use

in

the

rest

of

individuals

lives

including

the

people

with

whom

they

interact

the

technologies

they

have

around

them

their

lifestage

and

lifestyle

-LRB-

Anderson

Tracey

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

and

their

offline

community

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

Matei

Ball-Rokeach

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

Similarly

we

can

not

situate

individuals

Internet

usage

without

considering

their

non-Internet

attributes

and

behavior

We

can

not

ignore

the

way

statistics

on

Internet

use

and

reach

may

be

predicated

on

the

behaviors

and

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use

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unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

affordances

that

already

accrue

to

those

in

the

Internet

user

demographic

that

is

those

with

higher

incomes

and

higher

education

levels

-LRB-

Nie

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

or

that

already

distinguish

behavior

offline

for

example

in

how

women

and

men

communicate

-LRB-

Boneva

Kraut

Frohlich

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

We

need

to

consider

the

multiplicity

of

interactions

and

responsibilities

online

and

offline

that

compose

our

activities

relationships

and

community

looking

for

patterns

of

successful

integration

-LRB-

e.g.

Howard

Rainie

Jones

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

as

we

caution

against

unsuccessful

ones

-LRB-

e.g.

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-RRB-

However

our

picture

and

our

task

are

not

complete

without

also

considering

those

who

do

not

have

access

to

the

Internet

who

use

it

little

or

who

have

lost

access

to

it

-LRB-

e.g.

Katz

et

al.

-RRB-

It

is

important

to

examine

how

the

increasing

presence

and

importance

of

the

Internet

in

the

everyday

lives

of

those

with

access

separates

others

from

the

ongoing

social

economic

and

commercial

activity

the

Internet

supports

and

creates

or

perpetuates

an

existing

social

divide

The

articles

in

this

special

issue

join

other

researchers

in

examining

the

larger

picture

of

the

Internet

in

everyday

life

Several

major

studies

and

projects

provide

the

basis

for

the

work

discussed

in

this

introduction

and

in

the

articles

in

this

issue

These

include

The

Pew

Internet

and

American

Life

Project

various

reports

available

at

http

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

The

HomeNet

Project

publications

and

reports

available

at

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

-RRB-

Blacksburg

Electronic

Village

-LRB-

-RRB-

research

reports

available

at

-LRB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

-RRB-

UCLA

Center

for

Communication

Policy

Internet

study

Jeffrey

Cole

-LRB-

director

-RRB-

UCLA

Internet

Report

available

at

Stanford

Institute

for

the

Quantitative

Study

of

Society

-LRB-

SIQSS

-RRB-

Internet

and

Society

study

preliminary

report

by

Norman

Nie

and

Lutz

Erbring

available

at

-LRB-

Nie

-RRB-

The

Syntopia

-LRB-

Katz

Aspden

Katz

et

al.

-RRB-

National

Geographic

Survey

-LRB-

Wellman

Quan

Haase

Witte

Hampton

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

Netville

Wired

Suburb

Project

-LRB-

Canada

-RRB-

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

-RRB-

Digital

Living

-LRB-

U.K.

-RRB-

project

by

researchers

in

BTexact

-LRB-

British

Telecommunication

's

research

and

technology

business

-RRB-

and

the

Institute

for

Social

and

Economic

Research

at

the

University

of

Essex

-LRB-

Anderson

Tracey

-RRB-

The

LEEP

distance

education

program

leep.html

-LRB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

The

following

sections

summarize

results

from

studies

in

this

issue

and

other

recent

surveys

to

provide

an

overview

of

the

Internet

population

and

its

activities

We

begin

with

a

look

at

who

is

online

which

also

shows

who

is

coming

online

and

who

has

not

yet

come

online

and

what

these

studies

tell

us

they

are

doing

online

Access

and

use

statistics

help

define

and

articulate

the

nature

of

the

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

digital

divide

We

move

from

there

to

consideration

of

the

social

consequences

of

adding

Internet

activity

to

our

daily

lives

exploring

how

use

of

the

Internet

affects

traditional

social

and

communal

behaviors

such

as

communication

with

local

family

and

commitment

to

geographical

communities

We

conclude

with

a

look

at

how

these

studies

also

reveal

the

integration

of

the

Internet

into

our

everyday

lives

CONCERNS

ABOUT

THE

DIGITAL

DIVIDE

Whatever

its

consequences

all

would

agree

that

the

Internet

is

here

to

stay

and

spreading

rapidly

creating

a

pressing

need

to

understand

and

prepare

for

its

impact

The

statistics

available

about

the

Internet

and

those

presented

in

many

of

the

studies

in

this

volume

document

the

rapid

growth

in

use

of

the

Internet

Here

are

a

few

of

those

numbers

million

U.S.

adults

with

Internet

access

with

of

these

online

on

a

typical

day

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

and

new

users

each

day

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

of

U.S.

households

with

a

computer

with

access

to

the

Internet

and

of

Americans

with

access

to

the

Internet

from

home

or

elsewhere

-LRB-

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

million

U.K.

adults

with

home

access

in

of

whom

had

accessed

the

Internet

in

the

past

month

-LRB-

National

Statistics

Omnibus

-RRB-

three

times

the

number

of

households

connected

in

and

million

Canadian

households

with

an

individual

who

used

the

Internet

from

any

location

-LRB-

of

all

households

in

compared

with

in

-RRB-

and

million

households

-LRB-

-RRB-

with

use

at

home

-LRB-

compared

with

in

Statistics

Canada

-RRB-

Great

though

these

numbers

are

they

indicate

a

large

proportion

of

people

who

are

not

connected

to

the

Internet

do

not

know

about

it

have

no

interest

in

using

it

have

no

affordable

access

to

it

or

have

poor

infrastructural

support

for

it

The

large

social

phenomenon

of

the

Internet

is

passing

some

by

and

for

better

or

worse

that

sector

is

failing

to

gain

access

to

the

resources

available

to

those

with

access

to

the

Internet

In

the

United

States

differences

in

access

show

rural

and

poor

populations

to

be

underrepresented

in

Internet

access

and

use

This

difference

between

the

haves

and

the

have

nots

in

Internet

access

has

become

known

as

the

digital

divide

-LRB-

see

National

Telecommunications

and

Information

Administration

-LSB-

NTIA

-RSB-

-RRB-

This

phenomenon

has

received

the

most

attention

in

the

United

States

where

differences

in

access

show

rural

and

poor

populations

to

be

underrepresented

in

Internet

access

and

use

The

term

has

also

been

applied

more

globally

to

consider

differences

between

the

have

and

have

not

nations

although

we

do

not

pursue

that

issue

here

-LRB-

see

Hargittai

Centeno

-RRB-

In

this

issue

we

look

mainly

at

U.S.

Internet

use

with

one

study

presenting

results

from

a

recent

U.K.

study

-LRB-

Anderson

Tracey

-RRB-

one

from

a

Canadian

community

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

-RRB-

and

one

from

North

America

-LRB-

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

Although

there

is

evidence

that

the

digital

divide

is

shrinking

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

find

that

differences

in

access

still

persist

across

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use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

gender

age

household

income

education

and

race

and

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

find

such

differences

to

be

particularly

pronounced

across

education

and

age

WHO

IS

ONLINE

Of

those

who

have

access

to

the

Internet

U.S.

users

are

almost

evenly

split

between

men

and

women

but

with

higher

numbers

of

younger

users

Whites

and

those

with

higher

incomes

higher

education

levels

and

more

years

of

access

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Nie

Erbring

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Currently

in

the

United

Kingdom

-LRB-

National

Statistics

Omnibus

-RRB-

and

previously

in

the

United

States

more

men

than

women

were

likely

to

have

used

the

Internet

The

greatest

change

in

Internet

access

over

time

is

observed

in

the

previously

underrepresented

groups

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

comparing

across

cohorts

of

users

in

the

United

States

based

on

the

year

they

began

to

use

the

Internet

-LRB-

from

to

-RRB-

found

that

proportions

of

women

users

older

than

lower

income

earners

and

non

college

graduates

have

increased

most

during

these

years

Similarly

Statistics

Canada

-LRB-

-RRB-

reported

the

highest

growth

rate

in

Internet

use

and

home

connections

for

occurred

in

older

age

groups

households

headed

by

seniors

years

and

older

followed

by

households

headed

by

individuals

aged

to

years

However

their

numbers

still

show

fewer

regular

users

in

these

households

compared

with

younger

households

-LRB-

one

tenth

of

households

headed

by

adults

older

than

years

had

a

regular

Internet

user

one

third

for

the

to

and

one

half

for

younger

households

-RRB-

Similarly

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

much

lower

access

among

those

older

than

years

compared

with

those

younger

than

years

As

statistics

on

access

show

a

shrinking

digital

divide

usage

differences

become

more

important

for

understanding

overall

Internet

activity

Howard

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

show

that

on

any

particular

day

of

those

who

have

access

more

of

the

men

Whites

higher

income

earners

higher

educated

and

more

experienced

users

are

likely

to

be

online

For

example

of

men

with

access

will

be

online

compared

with

of

the

women

with

access

and

of

Whites

compared

with

of

African

Americans

and

of

Hispanics

with

access

Thus

focusing

on

access

alone

masks

continuing

digital

divide

differences

Similarly

although

access

as

a

single

measure

suggests

greater

numbers

of

younger

people

online

older

users

are

online

for

more

hours

Although

this

may

be

because

of

use

associated

with

work

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

and

the

way

work

hours

have

crept

into

home

hours

-LRB-

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

Anderson

and

Tracey

-LRB-

-RRB-

find

some

U.K.

users

of

retirement

age

to

be

heavy

users

and

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

also

found

that

retired

users

spend

nearly

hours

more

a

week

using

the

Internet

than

nonretired

users

Across

all

studies

the

largest

and

most

significant

differences

in

access

and

use

are

related

to

years

of

experience

Those

who

have

been

online

longer

spend

more

time

online

each

day

and

are

more

likely

to

be

online

on

any

particular

day

These

netizens

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

represent

the

most

active

and

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on

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

accomplished

users

and

are

the

ones

who

engage

in

the

most

kinds

of

online

activities

-LRB-

see

also

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

For

specifics

on

activity

differences

across

demographic

characteristics

see

the

studies

in

this

issue

as

well

as

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

and

UCLA

CCP

-LRB-

-RRB-

As

several

authors

point

out

because

all

users

are

getting

more

experience

online

these

advanced

users

potentially

show

the

direction

in

which

Internet

use

is

evolving

Thus

they

are

an

important

group

to

watch

However

it

is

important

to

note

that

at

this

time

in

Internet

history

these

users

still

represent

early

adopters

Many

studies

have

shown

that

behaviors

and

characteristics

of

such

users

differ

from

those

of

the

later

majority

of

adopters

They

are

more

cosmopolitan

more

socially

active

and

have

higher

incomes

and

education

-LRB-

Rogers

-RRB-

characteristics

also

being

found

in

longtime

Internet

users

Indeed

several

authors

point

out

that

the

positive

social

impact

of

the

Internet

may

reflect

attributes

of

the

users

rather

than

any

true

impact

of

the

Internet

itself

-LRB-

see

Howard

et

al.

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

Nie

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

Thus

although

an

important

leading

group

to

watch

experienced

users

patterns

of

use

may

not

wholly

predict

use

by

later

adopters

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

show

two

other

levels

at

which

the

digital

divide

still

operates

both

of

which

are

consistent

with

consideration

of

stages

in

the

adoption

of

innovations

and

of

adopter

characteristics

-LRB-

Rogers

-RRB-

In

this

issue

they

describe

how

the

digital

divide

operates

at

the

level

of

awareness

of

the

Internet

Awareness

is

the

initial

stage

in

individual

adoption

of

an

innovation

and

thus

a

prerequisite

for

adoption

Those

Americans

more

likely

to

be

aware

of

the

Internet

are

younger

male

higher

income

earners

and

White

Once

awareness

is

achieved

Katz

et

al.

found

no

divide

based

on

gender

or

race

-LRB-

in

results

for

-RRB-

Similarly

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

also

found

that

once

on

the

Internet

use

looks

more

homogeneous

across

all

users

The

other

level

at

which

the

digital

divide

still

operates

is

in

discontinuance

-LRB-

Rogers

-RRB-

that

is

in

demographics

of

Internet

dropouts

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

see

also

Katz

Aspden

-RRB-

found

that

to

of

users

drop

out

each

year

usually

younger

less

affluent

and

less

well-educated

users

-LRB-

but

not

proportionally

more

female

or

non-White

users

-RRB-

for

reasons

such

as

lost

access

insufficient

interest

cost

and/or

time

Early

discontinuance

of

an

innovation

is

a

characteristic

of

late

adopters

as

are

lower

social

connectivity

income

and

education

levels

These

statistics

show

that

considering

access

as

a

one-time

event

will

fail

to

capture

the

churn

in

Internet

access

and

use

and

the

behaviors

of

only

partially

committed

Internet

users

WHAT

ARE

THEY

USING

THE

INTERNET

FOR

Across

all

studies

e-mail

and

searching

for

information

take

high

priority

in

Internet

time

-LRB-

see

Tables

and

for

data

on

activities

by

U.S.

Internet

users

-LSB-

Nie

Erbring

UCLA

CCP

-RSB-

and

Table

for

U.K.

users

-LSB-

National

Statistics

Omnibus

-RSB-

see

also

Katz

Aspden

Katz

et

al.

and

Downloaded

from

at

University

of

Waikato

Library

on

May

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

TABLE

Activity

The

Top

Most

Popular

Internet

Activities

Percentage

of

Internet

Users

Web

surfing

or

browsing

E-mail

Finding

hobby

information

Reading

news

Finding

entertainment

information

Buying

online

Finding

travel

information

Using

instant

messaging

Finding

medical

information

Playing

games

SOURCE

UCLA

Center

for

Communication

Policy

-LRB-

-RRB-

TABLE

Activity

E-mail

General

information

Surfing

Reading

Hobbies

Product

information

Travel

information

Work/business

Entertainment/games

Buying

Stock

quotes

Job

search

Chat

rooms

Homework

Auctions

Banking

Trading

stocks

SOURCE

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

What

Users

Do

on

the

Internet

Percentage

of

Internet

Users

Wellman

et

al.

for

data

on

North

American

visitors

to

the

National

Geographic

Web

site

-RRB-

The

high

use

of

e-mail

to

of

users

affirms

Michael

Strangelove

's

statement

that

the

Internet

is

not

about

technology

it

is

not

about

information

it

is

about

communication

people

talking

to

each

other

people

exchanging

e-mail

the

Internet

is

a

community

of

chronic

communicators

-LRB-

quoted

in

Putnam

p.

-RRB-

More

than

of

users

use

the

Internet

for

e-mail

with

an

estimated

trillion

e-mail

messages

exchanged

in

the

United

States

in

and

of

Americans

checking

their

e-mail

daily

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Users

rank

e-mail

as

the

number

one

reason

for

being

online

-LRB-

Katz

Aspden

-RRB-

Downloaded

from

at

University

of

Waikato

Library

on

May

SAGE

Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

Adults

Who

Have

Accessed

the

Internet

by

Purpose

of

Internet

Use

-LRB-

personal

use

only

in

percentages

-RRB-

July

October

TABLE

Activities

Finding

information

about

goods/services

Using

e-mail

General

browsing

or

surfing

Finding

information

related

to

education

Buying

or

ordering

tickets/goods/services

Personal

banking/financial/investment

activities

Looking

for

work

a

Playing

or

downloading

games

Using

chat

rooms

or

sites

Playing

or

downloading

music

Using

or

accessing

government/official

services

Other

things

SOURCE

National

Statistics

Omnibus

-LRB-

-RRB-

a

In

October

downloading

software

including

games

The

Internet

's

other

main

use

is

for

seeking

information

for

example

hobby

medical

travel

or

product

information

-LRB-

Katz

et

al.

Nie

Erbring

Statistics

Canada

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Longtime

users

new

users

nonusers

and

former

users

all

rank

this

activity

as

number

one

or

two

as

a

reason

for

being

online

-LRB-

Katz

Aspden

-RRB-

The

UCLA

report

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

found

that

two

thirds

of

users

consider

the

Internet

an

important

or

extremely

important

source

of

information

with

using

the

Internet

for

Web

surfing

and

browsing

and

with

adults

spending

more

than

one

quarter

of

their

time

online

looking

for

information

Smaller

but

still

large

proportions

of

Internet

users

are

engaging

in

e-commerce

by

buying

products

online

from

-LRB-

SIQSS

study

-RRB-

to

-LRB-

UCLA

study

-RRB-

in

the

United

States

and

in

the

United

Kingdom

-LRB-

National

Statistics

Omnibus

-RRB-

In

Canada

of

households

with

access

had

bought

goods

or

services

on

the

Internet

in

up

from

two

years

earlier

-LRB-

Statistics

Canada

-RRB-

Whereas

some

studies

find

little

difference

in

what

people

do

online

once

they

have

access

-LRB-

Katz

et

al.

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

others

find

differences

by

gender

age

and

race

Some

gender

differences

are

observed

-LRB-

although

not

uniformly

-RRB-

across

studies

The

Pew

studies

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

find

that

men

are

more

likely

than

women

to

be

using

the

Internet

to

seek

news

product

financial

or

hobby

information

or

to

do

work-related

research

the

UCLA

studies

concur

that

men

spend

more

time

on

commerce

activities

such

as

purchasing

banking

or

auctions

but

find

women

spend

slightly

more

time

on

work-related

activities

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

The

HomeNet

studies

suggest

that

women

carry

offline

communication

behaviors

online

and

are

more

likely

to

use

e-mail

for

expressive

rather

than

instrumental

communication

that

is

to

exchange

small

talk

and

engage

in

relationship

building

communications

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

-RRB-

Women

also

continue

the

offline

characteristic

of

being

the

ones

responsible

for

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Publications

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rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

maintaining

ties

with

kin

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

see

also

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

Howard

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

did

not

find

major

differences

between

men

and

women

in

use

of

e-mail

but

did

find

of

Whites

send

and

read

e-mail

on

a

typical

day

compared

with

of

African

Americans

in

their

sample

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

noted

that

use

of

anonymous

chat

rooms

is

an

activity

for

the

young

with

usage

substantially

lower

for

those

older

than

age

HOW

MUCH

TIME

DO

THEY

SPEND

ONLINE

All

researchers

agree

that

using

the

Internet

takes

time

hours

a

week

on

average

in

one

U.S.

estimate

including

work

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Work-age

U.S.

users

spend

the

most

time

online

with

those

from

to

years

averaging

more

than

hours

a

week

peaking

at

hours

a

week

among

those

to

years

of

age

Younger

and

older

users

spend

less

time

online

with

to

using

the

Internet

the

least

at

just

less

than

hours

a

and

those

older

than

years

using

it

for

just

less

than

hours

a

week

In

the

United

Kingdom

time

online

appears

to

be

much

lower

at

to

hours

a

week

across

all

age

groups

-LRB-

Anderson

Tracey

-RRB-

The

number

of

hours

online

per

week

increases

sharply

with

number

of

years

using

the

Internet

from

hours

a

week

for

those

with

less

than

year

of

experience

to

more

than

hours

a

week

for

those

with

more

than

years

of

experience

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Activities

and

reasons

for

being

online

also

change

with

experience

Users

progress

from

being

online

for

fun

and

playing

games

to

being

online

for

a

specific

reason

and

using

it

to

accomplish

personal

or

professional

work

-LRB-

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

Adding

Internet-based

activities

to

our

daily

lives

requires

a

redistribution

of

our

limited

personal

resources

of

time

and

effort

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

significant

changes

in

individuals

lives

appear

when

use

exceeds

hours

a

week

and

this

includes

approximately

of

Internet

users

in

their

sample

To

accommodate

these

hours

other

activities

are

displaced

Time

may

be

stolen

from

local

face-to-face

exchanges

and

given

to

distant

friends

stolen

from

the

phone

and

given

to

e-mail

and

stolen

from

now

with

promise

of

return

later

This

change

is

not

without

controversy

If

we

spend

time

communicating

via

e-mail

with

distant

friends

and

relatives

we

have

taken

time

from

local

activity

The

controversy

is

not

whether

we

do

take

time

but

whether

taking

this

time

has

positive

or

negative

consequences

If

we

expend

our

social

resources

on

maintaining

ties

with

distant

others

or

with

strangers

we

may

never

meet

face-to-face

this

may

compromise

our

local

social

relationships

which

in

turn

may

compromise

our

individual

well-being

-LRB-

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-RRB-

However

another

possibility

is

that

the

Internet

may

help

us

make

connections

to

others

gaining

another

source

of

companionship

emotional

support

help

with

jobs

and

so

forth

and

may

fill

a

void

for

those

who

currently

operate

in

an

alienating

face-to-face

environment

Yet

another

possibility

is

that

the

Internet

does

not

embody

any

dramatic

change

in

behavior

but

instead

exaggerates

what

we

do

Downloaded

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Publications

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reserved

Not

for

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use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

already

for

example

increasing

circles

of

friends

for

the

outgoing

and

successful

among

us

and

decreasing

the

circle

for

the

rest

Sorting

out

the

actual

impact

of

Internet

use

on

social

interaction

is

the

second

major

area

addressed

in

the

studies

in

this

issue

CONCERNS

ABOUT

SOCIAL

INTERACTION

We

can

not

expect

to

add

or

more

hours

a

week

of

Internet

time

to

our

daily

lives

-LRB-

as

do

users

with

more

than

years

of

experience

-RRB-

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

without

changing

some

patterns

of

our

behavior

As

Nie

-LRB-

-RRB-

questions

and

as

Kazmer

and

Haythornthwaite

-LRB-

-RRB-

examine

in

detail

when

Internet

hours

are

added

to

already

full

schedules

what

gets

dropped

One

place

Internet

hours

come

from

is

time

previously

used

to

watch

television

Internet

users

spend

less

time

watching

television

than

nonusers

approximately

hours

a

week

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Looking

in

more

detail

Anderson

and

Tracey

-LRB-

-RRB-

reported

a

long

list

of

activities

that

are

potentially

displaced

but

found

impacts

were

marginal

at

best

including

television

gardening

shopping

going

to

the

pub

doing

nothing

writing

letters

sleeping

playing

computer

games

and

typing

on

a

typewriter

Whereas

UCLA

CCP

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

their

users

reported

spending

the

same

amount

of

time

reading

books

and

newspapers

and

talking

on

the

phone

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

heavy

Internet

users

cut

back

on

use

of

all

traditional

media

-LRB-

television

newspapers

phone

to

friends

and

family

-RRB-

as

well

as

shopping

in

stores

and

commuting

in

traffic

Kazmer

and

Haythornthwaite

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

as

time

becomes

constrained

online

learners

drop

some

activities

first

while

preserving

others

first

to

go

are

more

individual

activities

such

as

television

reading

for

pleasure

needlework

and

gardening

next

to

go

are

leisure

activities

with

friends

and

work

for

volunteer

groups

and

then

work

sleep

and

eating

are

compromised

Kept

to

the

end

are

time

with

family

-LRB-

particularly

children

-RRB-

and

work

for

the

educational

program

itself

Although

all

studies

report

decreased

time

watching

television

Internet

users

in

general

are

more

media

connected

than

nonusers

ahead

in

all

categories

except

in

the

percentage

using

the

television

-LRB-

tied

at

of

users

and

nonusers

-RRB-

Books

are

used

by

more

Internet

users

than

nonusers

video

games

recorded

music

newspapers

-LRB-

note

also

that

of

Internet

users

report

reading

news

online

as

a

key

activity

so

this

figure

may

underrepresent

overall

use

of

newspapers

-RRB-

radio

and

phone

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

This

may

be

a

reflection

of

the

higher

education

and

income

of

Internet

users

and

it

may

also

again

indicate

characteristics

of

the

earlier

adopters

Their

preexisting

inclination

to

use

media

of

all

types

combined

with

familiarity

and

ease

with

these

media

may

have

made

it

easier

and

less

complex

for

them

to

adopt

computing

and

the

Internet

-LRB-

see

Rogers

-RRB-

It

may

also

have

exposed

them

to

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

information

about

the

Internet

earlier

than

others

positively

enhancing

their

awareness

of

the

Internet

and

precipitating

earlier

adoption

One

concern

regarding

all

this

time

spent

online

is

that

the

solitary

activity

engendered

by

the

Internet

may

displace

time

formerly

spent

on

local

social

relations

and

have

an

adverse

effect

on

individual

well-being

-LRB-

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

Nie

-RRB-

At

another

level

of

analysis

there

is

concern

for

the

well-being

of

local

geographically

defined

communities

when

individuals

spend

their

time

on

individual

activities

or

on

interactions

with

people

outside

the

area

-LRB-

Wellman

-RRB-

This

concern

has

been

cast

in

terms

of

the

social

capital

that

accrues

to

different

communities

according

to

the

contributions

from

people

who

belong

to

the

community

and

is

now

best

known

through

Robert

Putnam

's

Bowling

Alone

-LRB-

-RRB-

Communities

with

high

social

capital

demonstrated

and

built

through

vibrant

face-to-face

interaction

in

voluntary

associations

provide

a

higher

quality

of

life

for

their

members

-LRB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

-RRB-

Thus

there

are

questions

about

whether

the

Internet

has

a

positive

or

negative

effect

on

individual

well-being

relations

with

others

and

social

capital

building

within

communities

At

present

the

statistics

do

not

provide

a

clear

position

on

this

issue

and

can

often

be

interpreted

to

support

or

refute

the

claim

that

the

Internet

is

a

solitary

activity

harmful

to

social

relations

with

others

To

understand

this

issue

it

is

necessary

to

find

out

about

many

aspects

of

individuals

behavior

in

regard

to

the

Internet

including

answers

to

questions

such

as

Does

being

on

the

Internet

mean

being

alone

Does

time

online

actually

interfere

with

time

with

others

or

does

it

replace

time

spent

in

otherwise

solitary

or

low-interaction

activities

Do

users

perceptions

of

the

impact

of

their

time

on

the

Internet

on

interpersonal

relations

concur

with

those

of

their

friends

and

family

members

What

is

the

impact

on

friendships

Are

local

friendships

traded

for

distant

ones

or

are

distant

ones

added

Are

strong

face-to-face

interpersonal

ties

traded

for

weak

computer-mediated

ones

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

Do

the

dynamics

of

social

interactions

on

the

Internet

add

to

or

detract

from

individual

well-being

-LRB-

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-RRB-

Do

they

add

to

or

detract

from

commitment

to

and

participation

in

local

community

activities

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Putnam

-RRB-

Do

they

increase

decrease

or

supplement

social

capital

-LRB-

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

Does

the

Internet

perpetuate

and/or

exaggerate

existing

offline

behaviors

for

example

increasing

connectedness

only

for

those

with

initially

larger

networks

and

better

resources

-LRB-

Nie

-RRB-

or

increasing

communication

only

among

natural

communicators

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

-RRB-

Can

and

should

Internet

behaviors

be

considered

separately

from

other

aspects

of

individuals

lives

Some

brief

and

initial

answers

to

these

questions

follow

largely

drawn

from

the

studies

in

this

issue

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use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

DOES

USING

THE

INTERNET

MEAN

BEING

ALONE

Being

alone

may

mean

sitting

at

a

computer

on

your

own

and/or

pursuing

individual

pursuits

on

the

Internet

We

have

already

seen

above

that

using

the

Internet

means

communicating

with

others

largely

through

e-mail

so

a

good

proportion

of

the

time

online

may

be

considered

social

The

UCLA

study

suggested

that

Internet

use

may

not

always

mean

being

alone

at

the

computer

of

users

report

spending

at

least

some

time

each

week

using

the

Internet

with

other

household

members

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Being

alone

may

also

mean

abandoning

ties

with

those

physically

nearby

Individuals

may

feel

this

loss

as

may

the

individuals

with

whom

they

no

longer

spend

time

Internet

users

in

the

main

do

not

feel

they

are

reducing

time

with

others

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

reported

that

of

users

consider

the

Internet

to

have

had

little

impact

on

time

with

friends

and

family

Howard

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

more

than

half

the

users

say

they

now

have

more

communication

with

family

-LRB-

-RRB-

and

with

their

primary

friend

-LRB-

-RRB-

as

well

as

nearly

one

third

now

having

communication

with

a

family

member

they

did

not

previously

contact

often

-LRB-

-RRB-

In

the

UCLA

study

most

-LRB-

-RRB-

users

connected

to

the

Internet

at

home

say

they

spend

the

same

amount

or

more

time

together

with

household

members

Being

alone

can

also

mean

not

having

others

to

turn

to

in

times

of

need

Yet

the

Internet

is

also

used

to

enhance

social

relations

both

near

and

far

A

number

of

studies

point

to

increased

contact

with

distant

friends

and

relatives

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

Kraut

Lundmark

et

al.

-RRB-

and

how

this

contact

provides

buffering

from

stress

-LRB-

LaRose

Eastin

Gregg

-RRB-

Hampton

and

Wellman

-LRB-

-RRB-

show

that

people

use

the

Internet

to

gain

social

support

After

moving

to

a

new

suburban

home

those

on

high-speed

networks

gained

much

more

companionship

and

social

support

from

members

of

their

social

network

than

did

those

without

high-speed

access

being

online

allowed

them

to

retain

their

connections

But

even

for

those

online

physical

space

had

some

constraint

on

Internet

connectivity

Although

social

contact

came

for

people

at

all

distances

social

support

was

more

apt

to

be

given

by

people

living

less

that

miles

-LRB-

kilometers

-RRB-

away

However

other

results

suggest

decreases

in

sociability

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

greater

percentages

of

individuals

reporting

decreased

time

spent

with

family

and

friends

with

increasing

time

spent

on

the

Internet

from

with

hour

of

Internet

use

per

week

to

with

more

than

hours

use

Similarly

the

percentage

of

individuals

reporting

decreased

time

talking

on

the

phone

with

friends

and

family

increases

with

time

on

the

Internet

from

with

hour

of

use

to

with

more

than

hours

of

use

-LRB-

no

statistics

are

available

on

whether

this

is

a

switch

from

phone

to

e-mail

or

a

loss

of

contact

altogether

-RRB-

Also

in

answer

to

another

question

in

the

UCLA

study

Internet

users

report

socializing

less

with

household

members

than

do

nonusers

by

close

to

hours

a

week

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Library

on

May

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

see

also

Nie

-RRB-

Perhaps

Internet

users

in

the

UCLA

study

are

already

low

socializers

and

adding

Internet

use

may

interfere

less

with

their

socializing

than

it

might

for

others

explaining

how

can

say

they

spend

the

same

amount

of

time

with

household

members

Perhaps

the

impact

is

only

felt

when

people

use

the

Internet

a

lot

for

example

above

the

hours

a

week

level

at

which

Nie

and

Erbring

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

behavior

changes

markedly

Other

results

suggest

this

may

be

the

case

like

Nie

and

Erbring

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

also

found

that

greater

use

of

the

Internet

was

associated

with

declines

in

family

communication

Being

alone

may

also

be

a

judgment

made

by

those

who

are

abandoned

while

the

Internet

user

spends

time

online

How

do

others

view

Internet

user

's

time

with

them

The

UCLA

study

found

that

say

that

they

do

not

feel

ignored

by

other

household

members

spending

too

much

time

online

-LRB-

sometimes

feel

ignored

and

often

feel

ignored

-RRB-

This

appears

to

be

less

isolating

than

television

for

which

report

not

feeling

ignored

by

others

television

habits

-LRB-

sometimes

feel

ignored

and

often

feel

ignored

-RRB-

However

we

may

take

with

a

grain

of

salt

a

seemingly

positive

statement

about

one

poten

tially

isolating

medium

when

it

is

compared

with

another

medium

that

is

also

often

considered

to

be

isolating

After

all

nearly

one

quarter

of

those

asked

do

feel

ignored

by

their

Internet-using

household

members

Also

if

we

compare

the

numbers

above

to

those

here

we

find

a

disparity

between

users

perceptions

of

time

spent

with

others

and

others

perceptions

of

being

ignored

of

the

users

say

they

are

not

ignoring

others

whereas

only

of

others

do

not

feel

ignored

Research

has

yet

to

explore

fully

what

these

sorts

of

numbers

mean

in

people

's

lives

WHAT

IS

THE

IMPACT

ON

CONTACT

WITH

OTHERS

FRIENDSHIPS

AND

CIVIC

ENGAGEMENT

Being

alone

may

mean

not

communicating

with

anyone

or

not

having

friends

and

strong

interpersonal

relationships

-LRB-

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-RRB-

Users

in

UCLA

's

study

reported

moderately

increased

contact

with

family

and

friends

-LRB-

see

also

Howard

et

al.

-RRB-

and

professional

colleagues

a

small

positive

impact

on

contact

with

people

who

share

their

hobby

or

recreational

activity

and

negative

impacts

for

contact

with

people

who

share

their

religion

or

political

beliefs

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

Wellman

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

noted

that

distance

still

matters

with

more

contact

occurring

with

those

close

to

home

than

far

away

They

find

that

Internet

contact

neither

increases

nor

decreases

contact

with

people

in

person

or

on

the

telephone

It

adds

on

to

it

so

that

the

more

people

use

the

Internet

the

more

overall

contact

increases

with

friends

and

relatives

Kavanaugh

and

Patterson

-LRB-

-RRB-

saw

local

benefits

with

users

reporting

increased

communication

with

members

of

formal

social

groups

and

with

local

friends

and

Hampton

and

Wellman

-LRB-

-RRB-

saw

benefits

in

a

wired

community

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rights

reserved

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for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

with

individuals

knowing

many

more

neighbors

when

using

the

local

network

-LRB-

knowing

the

names

of

neighbors

compared

to

for

the

nonwired

and

with

more

visiting

-RRB-

-LRB-

see

also

Hampton

-RRB-

Being

alone

locally

may

be

countered

by

new

and

enhanced

social

relations

with

others

expressed

via

the

Internet

and

carried

from

the

Internet

to

offline

face-to-face

relationships

Many

reported

increased

contact

with

distant

friends

and

relatives

because

of

the

Internet

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

Hampton

Wellman

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

In

the

UCLA

study

of

users

said

that

they

have

online

friends

they

have

not

met

in

person

and

have

met

in

person

someone

they

first

met

online

-LRB-

UCLA

CCP

-RRB-

In

Katz

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

of

users

had

established

friendships

via

the

Internet

and

had

met

face-to-face

at

least

once

with

someone

they

first

met

online

in

reported

online

friendships

and

had

met

someone

offline

However

it

is

also

evident

that

connectivity

seems

to

go

to

the

connected

that

is

greater

social

benefit

from

the

Internet

accrues

to

those

already

well

situated

socially

As

Nie

-LRB-

-RRB-

pointed

out

connectivity

already

goes

to

those

with

higher

levels

of

income

and

education

and

the

greater

connectivity

seen

in

comparisons

of

Internet

users

to

nonusers

may

result

from

preexisting

high

connectivity

levels

of

such

individuals

Other

studies

also

suggested

that

adding

a

new

medium

to

one

's

communication

repertoire

is

more

likely

when

one

has

a

stronger

tie

to

others

-LRB-

Haythornthwaite

Haythornthwaite

Wellman

Koku

Nazer

Wellman

-RRB-

frequent

contact

via

the

Internet

is

also

associated

with

frequent

contact

via

other

means

-LRB-

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

These

studies

show

that

more

media

are

used

by

communicating

pairs

the

closer

the

work

and

or

friendship

association

between

them

Thus

individuals

who

are

highly

socially

connected

and

likely

within

that

set

of

connections

to

maintain

higher

numbers

of

stronger

ties

are

also

more

likely

to

be

the

ones

adopting

and

using

the

Internet

for

communication

and

connectivity

Existing

connectivity

levels

may

also

have

an

impact

on

the

success

of

more

community-wide

Internet

initiatives

Kavanaugh

and

Patterson

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

high

levels

of

community

involvement

are

associated

with

more

use

of

the

Internet

for

interpersonal

and

group

communication

activities

In

summarizing

their

results

they

concur

with

an

observation

by

Putnam

that

the

success

of

their

community

network

the

Blacksburg

Electronic

Village

may

have

been

because

it

was

established

in

a

richly

socially

connected

environment

and

that

social

capital

may

be

a

prerequisite

rather

than

a

consequence

of

effective

computermediated

communication

-LRB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

citing

Putnam

-RRB-

Local

connectivity

also

seems

to

matter

in

who

becomes

more

connected

online

as

do

gender

and

experience

The

chances

of

making

a

friend

online

increase

substantially

with

increased

belonging

to

a

neighborhood

and

with

knowing

a

neighbor

well

enough

to

talk

about

a

personal

matter

-LRB-

Matei

Ball-Rokeach

-RRB-

women

who

traditionally

maintain

family

ties

are

found

to

be

more

likely

to

maintain

e-mail

connections

with

distant

friends

and

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Publications

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Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

relatives

and

to

maintain

larger

networks

of

distant

contacts

than

men

-LRB-

Boneva

et

al.

-RRB-

Experience

also

makes

a

difference

Those

more

familiar

with

Internet

technologies

are

also

more

likely

to

make

social

connections

Thus

we

see

that

using

the

Internet

to

communicate

with

others

increases

with

years

of

use

of

the

Internet

-LRB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Wellman

et

al.

-RRB-

and

increased

confidence

with

the

technologies

-LRB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

Connecting

with

others

may

even

include

giving

technical

help

to

get

distant

relatives

online

so

that

contact

can

happen

via

e-mail

-LRB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

Wellman

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

provide

a

note

of

caution

They

report

that

heavy

Internet

users

have

a

lower

sense

of

online

community

They

speculate

that

this

may

be

because

the

Internet

has

become

a

routinized

unremarkable

part

of

their

lives

or

because

heavy

Internet

use

increases

the

prospects

for

receiving

distasteful

communications

online

Key

to

concerns

about

individuals

solitary

and

social

behaviors

is

the

wellsupported

finding

that

social

contact

and

its

attendant

access

to

emotional

and

material

support

resources

engenders

personal

well-being

-LRB-

see

Hampton

Wellman

Kavanaugh

Patterson

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-RRB-

Does

use

of

the

Internet

decrease

personal

well-being

The

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

study

sounded

an

alarm

about

this

problem

The

authors

found

a

negative

association

between

higher

Internet

use

and

increases

in

depression

These

authors

cautioned

that

it

must

be

interpreted

in

the

light

of

the

age

of

participants

-LRB-

teenagers

being

higher

Internet

users

in

their

study

-RRB-

and

with

attention

to

the

direction

of

causation

-LRB-

Were

more

depressed

individuals

using

the

Internet

more

because

they

were

depressed

or

did

the

greater

use

make

them

depressed

-RRB-

However

their

results

clearly

indicate

that

concern

for

individual

well-being

and

Internet

use

has

a

real

foundation

and

whether

causal

or

correlational

needs

to

be

investigated

further

Just

such

an

investigation

has

been

done

recently

by

LaRose

Eastin

and

Gregg

-LRB-

-RRB-

Results

from

a

sample

of

college

students

a

mobile

population

less

likely

to

have

local

social

support

showed

that

Internet

use

was

positively

associated

with

receiving

e-mail

from

known

others

which

in

turn

was

associated

with

greater

social

support

This

support

then

had

a

mitigating

effect

on

general

stress

and

depression

They

also

found

a

significant

difference

in

Internet

self-efficacy

the

belief

in

one

's

ability

to

use

the

Internet

successfully

between

new

and

experienced

users

-LRB-

less

than

years

of

experience

and

more

than

years

-RRB-

Those

with

greater

self-efficacy

experienced

less

Internet

stress

-LRB-

e.g.

stress

associated

with

technical

aspects

of

Internet

use

-RRB-

a

contributing

factor

in

depression

Hampton

and

Wellman

-LRB-

-RRB-

reported

that

another

mobile

population

new

home

owners

fared

better

in

maintaining

social

contacts

when

connected

to

the

Internet

at

home

than

when

not

Those

who

were

connected

reported

almost

no

change

in

social

contact

compared

with

a

year

before

their

move

whereas

the

nonconnected

experienced

a

drop

in

contact

Again

it

can

be

expected

that

such

social

contact

will

generate

social

support

easing

the

transition

to

a

new

neighborhood

Both

these

studies

show

how

the

Internet

may

help

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of

Waikato

Library

on

May

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Publications

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rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

reduce

depression

for

specific

kinds

of

population

and

stress

again

the

need

for

exploring

Internet

use

in

conjunction

with

a

user

's

lifestage

not

separate

from

it

BRINGING

IT

ALL

TOGETHER

Much

of

the

discussion

of

Internet

use

tends

to

consider

it

as

separate

from

people

's

lives

an

add-on

that

interferes

with

real-life

activity

How

separate

are

Internet

activities

from

other

aspects

of

individuals

lives

Is

it

a

stand-alone

activity

or

does

it

become

no

more

separate

than

picking

up

the

phone

is

separate

from

talking

to

family

In

considering

the

integration

of

the

Internet

into

our

daily

lives

we

also

need

to

remember

that

as

many

point

out

the

Internet

is

a

new

social

phenomenon

that

has

been

in

place

for

fewer

than

years

We

already

see

that

experience

and

time

online

changes

behavior

we

are

watching

an

emerging

phenomenon

not

a

mature

one

At

present

we

see

that

types

of

use

time

spent

online

and

connectivity

to

others

all

increase

with

the

amount

of

time

people

have

had

access

to

and

used

Internet

applications

We

also

find

more

synergies

between

different

spheres

of

activity

with

increased

years

of

experience

Kavanaugh

and

Patterson

-LRB-

-RRB-

noted

an

increase

in

social

capital

building

activities

with

more

years

of

access

including

communication

with

close

and

distant

friends

relatives

coworkers

and

volunteer

groups

Howard

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

distinguished

the

more

experienced

netizens

from

others

in

the

way

they

incorporate

the

Internet

into

both

home

and

work

life

their

comfort

level

in

spending

and

managing

their

money

online

and

using

e-mail

to

enhance

social

relationships

Wellman

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

show

that

the

more

time

people

spend

online

the

more

they

are

involved

with

organizations

and

politics

offline

as

well

as

online

And

Kazmer

and

Haythornthwaite

-LRB-

see

also

Haythornthwaite

Kazmer

Robins

Shoemaker

-RRB-

described

how

synergy

between

individuals

work

home

and

school

worlds

develops

with

experience

in

an

online

environment

and

how

more

experienced

users

seek

ways

to

integrate

Internet

applications

such

as

e-mail

into

their

personal

work

and

volunteer

environments

Access

to

the

Internet

also

dovetails

with

daily

life

For

better

or

worse

work

creeps

into

home

hours

as

computers

and

the

Internet

reach

the

home

-LRB-

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

and

education

also

enters

this

overfilled

home

as

adult

students

engage

in

Internet-based

courses

in

the

midst

of

home

and

work

responsibilities

-LRB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

These

crossovers

also

precipitate

greater

access

For

example

the

UCLA

study

found

that

women

's

access

to

the

Internet

-LRB-

but

not

men

's

-RRB-

is

markedly

higher

when

there

are

children

in

the

household

-LRB-

vs.

-RRB-

Computing

and

the

Internet

also

enter

local

communities

through

community

network

initiatives

as

in

Blacksburg

Virginia

-LRB-

Kavanaugh

Patterson

-RRB-

and

the

wired

suburb

near

Toronto

Ontario

-LRB-

Hampton

Wellman

-RRB-

Thus

influences

from

outside

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from

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Waikato

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May

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Publications

All

rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

Haythornthwaite

INTRODUCTION

the

home

work

school

and

networking

initiatives

precipitate

access

and

use

in

the

home

Yet

this

then

precipitates

use

from

home

to

elsewhere

as

netizens

connect

from

their

homes

to

the

homes

of

others

and

bring

voluntary

groups

online

Explaining

Internet

behaviors

entails

understanding

that

the

Internet

is

not

a

separate

entity

but

instead

a

-LRB-

potential

-RRB-

complement

to

ongoing

activity

Its

seemingly

contradictory

trends

can

not

be

fully

understood

without

considering

a

more

integrative

view

of

people

's

lives

Similarly

it

can

not

be

explained

without

considering

the

specifics

of

individuals

lives

including

lifestage

and

lifestyle

-LRB-

Anderson

Tracey

-RRB-

needs

in

a

mobile

world

-LRB-

Putnam

-RRB-

multiple

world

obligations

-LRB-

Kazmer

Haythornthwaite

-RRB-

strong

and

weak

ties

-LRB-

Haythornthwaite

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

Wellman

in

press

-RRB-

and

user

and

nonuser

demographics

-LRB-

Nie

-RRB-

Studies

in

this

issue

begin

the

task

of

unbundling

the

Internet

and

individual

characteristics

and

environments

There

is

more

to

be

done

but

here

we

join

others

in

beginning

the

large

task

of

understanding

the

major

social

phenomenon

that

is

the

Internet

NOTES

For

reviews

of

trends

in

research

on

computer-mediated

communication

-LRB-

CMC

-RRB-

and

recent

reviews

and

collections

see

DiMaggio

Hargittai

Neuman

and

Robinson

-LRB-

-RRB-

Jones

-LRB-

-RRB-

Kiesler

-LRB-

-RRB-

Lievrouw

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

Smith

and

Kollock

-LRB-

-RRB-

Wellman

-LRB-

-RRB-

and

Wellman

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

Of

those

using

the

Internet

hour

a

week

report

more

time

working

at

home

and

at

the

office

and

report

more

time

at

home

and

the

same

amount

at

the

office

for

to

hours

of

Internet

use

the

numbers

are

and

to

hours

and

and

more

than

hours

and

-LRB-

Nie

Erbring

-RRB-

Statistics

Canada

-LRB-

-RRB-

reported

a

much

higher

rate

of

interest

in

and

connection

to

the

Internet

among

households

with

unmarried

children

younger

than

years

of

Canadian

singlefamly

households

with

unmarried

children

younger

than

years

were

connected

to

the

Internet

in

compared

with

for

other

single-family

households

In

of

households

with

children

were

connected

from

home

nearly

twice

the

proportion

in

For

Statistics

Canada

reports

in

English

or

French

see

Several

of

the

articles

in

this

issue

were

first

presented

at

the

Association

of

Internet

Researchers

conference

September

Lawrence

Kansas

-LRB-

see

-RRB-

Syntopia

is

derived

from

the

Greek

meaning

literally

together

place

For

a

further

explanation

of

this

project

and

its

name

see

Katz

Aspden

and

Rice

-LRB-

-LSB-

this

issue

-RSB-

-RRB-

For

a

recent

article

giving

a

Canadian

perspective

on

the

digital

divide

see

Birdsall

-LRB-

-RRB-

See

also

Sawhney

-LRB-

-RRB-

for

a

special

issue

of

The

Information

Society

on

universal

service

and

a

forthcoming

special

issue

in

the

same

journal

by

Strover

on

the

digital

divide

of

these

studies

report

on

differences

between

rural

to

urban

populations

see

the

National

Telecommunications

and

Information

Administration

-LRB-

-RRB-

reports

for

data

on

rural

and

urban

Internet

access

However

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

that

teenagers

in

their

sample

of

households

used

the

Internet

more

than

other

household

members

Their

sample

consisted

of

households

in

their

first

to

years

of

Internet

use

that

had

not

had

Internet

access

before

For

the

same

sample

Kiesler

Downloaded

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Waikato

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Publications

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rights

reserved

Not

for

commercial

use

or

unauthorized

distribution

AMERICAN

BEHAVIORAL

SCIENTIST

Lundmark

Zdaniuk

and

Kraut

-LRB-

-RRB-

found

teens

playing

a

major

role

in

help

seeking

and

help

giving

relating

to

the

technical

features

of

the

Internet

and

acting

as

the

technological

gurus

for

the

household

See

also

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

for

a

discussion

of

the

television

and

social

involvement

and

Putnam

-LRB-

-RRB-

For

more

on

Internet

use

and

social

network

ties

see

Wellman

-LRB-

-RRB-

Wellman

and

Gulia

-LRB-

-RRB-

and

Wellman

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

See

also

Kraut

Patterson

et

al.

-LRB-

-RRB-

for

a

discussion

of

the

potential

effect

of

the

Internet

on

an

individual

's

personal

network

of

strong

and

weak

ties

and

Haythornthwaite

-LRB-

-RRB-

for

a

discussion

of

the

nonlinear

impact

of

new

medium

on

weak

and

strong

ties

For

a

recent

follow-up

study

see

Kraut

et

al.

-LRB-

in

press

-RRB-

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psychological

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online behavior
cmc
social networks
digital divide
internet
social interaction