Hello, This is my literature review on the article “MYTH BUSTED: Internet Use Doesn’t Lead to Isolation.” found on http://mashable.com
What this topic talks about is one of the most common problems that people think others have with the internet : The internet makes people less social with others. Well this article was put up to rectify the myth and say that it is not exactly true. Lots of people have this feeling : Imagine a child who uses a social networking site like Facebook for many hours a day , and has turned him into a asocial person who can’t communicate as well with the people around him because of this.
Well this article says that “online activities such as social networking, sending e-mails and blogging can lead to larger, and (perhaps even more importantly) more diverse social networks.” totally different from the norm.
Using a study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, it shows that “Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.”
Statistics also show that most people also use the internet because it is the easiest way to stay in touch with their friends and family. 71% of users on Facebook alone have at least one member of their core network of friends, that is, the friends they have in real life, as a friend in their account, same for Myspace.
Also, another interesting thing about internet users are that student users are more likely (45%) to visit a coffee shop than people who don’t. That said another long term myth that frequent internet users that stay at home all the time is also busted, since people use the internet wherever they are in many public spaces.
To give my opinion about this, I am a blogger and I also keep a YouTube account as well, also I play alot of online games . I feel that this helps me to socialize better with people online. I also play online games with many of my real friends in life. This also helps to build a better friendship between ourselves. Also, I am a long time internet user who spends hours in front of the computer, yet I also make time to spend time with my family, and also my friends out on weekends. I also do not really spend a long time at the computer in one go, rather in breaks. I also feel that the part about internet users using it everywhere is also evident in that I bring my laptop around almost everywhere I go.
Therefore, I feel this article is a relief for anyone in our society who thinks that using internet will make us isolated. Whereas the truth is it really helps us with our social life alot more than it does not.
The full report of the PEW study can be found here
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- Internet Brings People Together!
Filed under: School
