Connected Habits Keep Us Close, Not Cut Off November 11th, 2009
Tom Amontree

Has the rise of technology—namely the Internet and mobile phones—increased our isolation and diminished our contact with the world? While some suggest this is the inevitable result of our hyper-connected age, a new study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project says otherwise.

According to the study, the rich array of Internet activities and mobile phone ownership has triggered larger and more diverse discussion networks. In fact, those participating in a social networking service, such as Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn, have social networks that are approximately 20% more diverse.

But is online socializing causing a “cocooning” trend? Pew says Internet users continue to visit their neighbors and enjoy face time, and bloggers and cell phone users who often surf the web at work are more likely to volunteer in their local communities. The study also underscores the fact that many Internet users go online in public places, and in fact web users are 42 to 45 percent more likely to frequent neighborhood hotspots. For example, 38% of those who have visited a library within the past month logged onto the Internet, and 18% have jumped online at a coffee shop. Look around an airport or peek inside a Starbucks and it is clear broadband users are not hiding out from public spaces.

While the study doesn’t dispute the fact that the average size of a person’s core group of friends and family has been on the decline since 1985, it does indicate that this trend is not due to increased online activity. In fact, for many of us, the Internet and mobile technology allows us to stay close to friends and family who are scattered throughout the country—from swapping digital photos and blogging on personal passions to keeping up via email and reconnecting with childhood playmates on social networks.

It may be a while since you sat down and wrote a letter, but just think of the power of real-time communication over broadband, and the myriad ways it keeps us all connected.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 10:55 am and is filed under Technologies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.