The Internet and Social Networks

The Latest Pew Study on The Strength of Internet Ties.

A new Pew Internet report done jointly with University of Toronto sociologists shows that the internet helps cultivate social networks and put them into action at times when people need help on important matters in their lives
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Disputing concerns that heavy use of the internet might diminish people’s social relations, the report finds that the internet fits seamlessly with Americans’ in-person and phone encounters. With the help of the internet, people are able to maintain active contact with sizable social networks, even though many of the people in those networks do not live close to them.
The report, “The Strength of Internet Ties,” highlights how email supplements, rather than replaces, the communication people have with others in their network.
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One major benefit comes when people want to mobilize their networks as they face problems or significant decisions. The Pew Internet Project survey finds that internet users are more likely than non-users to have been helped by those in their networks as they faced important events in their life.
“Internet use provides online Americans a path to resources, such as access to people who may have the right information to help deal with family health crises or find a new job,