Effects of the Internet

Tool:GVRL
Search Term: Internet

Can the Internet sustain “real” community, in which people have intense supportive and sociable relationships that provide them with a sense of social identity and social belonging?
There are at least three different opinions:

1. Is the Internet decreasing community?
Critics of the Internet wonder whether relationships between people who never see, smell, or hear each other can be the basis for true community. Its immersed nature may be so compelling that Internet users may neglect their family, friends, relatives, and neighbors. A study by Robert Kraut, scholar of social psychology and human computer interaction, and his colleagues found that new users became alienated and less sociable when they first went online. These concerns lead many people to argue that Internet use will lead to a decrease in community.

2. Is the Internet increasing community?
Because the Internet spans distances and time zones at low cost, enthusiasts extol its ability to support the creation of communities that are based on shared interests. Participation in these global communities may allow people to increase the overall levels of community participation and may provide powerful links between people and dispersed knowledge.

3. Is the Internet accelerating the transformation of community?
In contrast to the decreasing and increasing arguments, the transformation argument provides a more balanced account of the Internet’s impact on community. Although the Internet has been widely used only since the early 1990s, the debate about its impact on community is a continuation of the debate that has been ongoing since the Industrial Revolution about the impact of technology on community.

Summary
I believe are all valid points to a certain degree. Sure, there may be some that just become over absorbed without no human interaction and the Internet is their sole source. On the other hand the 3rd point holds the most value and truth in my eyes.
An individual can look up and see what community changes that are going on, geological impacts in the area, times schedule's of when certain events may be taking place (everything has an Internet address or page these days), social pages where you can talk to friends from years past, even if they moved to another part of the globe. I also feel it is not really shrinking it for the fact it is not considered a local community, but a global community.




Keyword/ Idea List
Internet-Based Therapy, Positive Effects of Internet Use, Webcams, Chat Rooms, Internet Resources, Telecommunications, Phishing, Virtual Reality, Networks, Recording Industry, Computer Tech, Information, Humor, Education, C.R.E.A.M., Clark's Computer Help Desk

Works Cited
Internet, Effects of, Jeffrey Boase, Wenhong Chen, and Barry Wellman, pg. 777, Encyclopedia of Community. Ed. Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2003