Computer Networks and Society

Paper Summary:

This paper considers how the widespread use of computer networks might contribute to social separation rather than community, though the idea that this could just be a new community is also noted. It looks at how, as these technologies are used more widely, fears grow that people are not communicating directly as they once did and that this technology keeps people apart rather than bringing them together. It also examines how there is an opposing view, holding that this technology allows for more immediate communication in real time and so creates a new sense of community, a community online.

From the Paper:

"Many social critics believe that the widespread use of the Internet and other computer networks is having a detrimental effect on human social interaction, reducing the power of community and separating people rather than bringing them together. They see the unity of both the family and the community as threatened by electronic communications, meaning e-mails, chat rooms, websites, and the like. As these technologies are used more widely, fears grow that people are not communicating directly as they once did and that this technology keeps people apart rather than bringing them together. There is an opposing view, of course, holding that this technology allows for more immediate communication in real time and so creates a new sense of community, a community online."

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