Sociability, Interpersonal Relations, and the Internet: Reconciling Conflicting Findings

During the course of the past year, at least four different academic surveys have been conducted, each focusing to some extent on the impact of Internet use on the quantity and quality of interpersonal communication and sociability. Remarkably, these studies arrive at starkly different conclusions regarding the social repercussions of Internet use. At the heart of this debate is whether Internet use can be a potentially isolating activity or one that leads to substantially greater communication among people and thus enhances human connectivity and sociability. Based on an analysis of these studies' key findings and methodological approaches, this article attempts to understand the role of the Internet in shaping our interpersonal relations. The key findings suggest that Internet users do not become more sociable; rather, they already display a higher degree of social connectivity and participation, due to the fact that they are better educated, better off financially, and less likely to be among the elderly. And simply because of the inelasticity of time, Internet use may actually reduce interpersonal interaction and communication.