Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Does email substitute for or augment in-person and phone contact? Since the internet became popular, analysts have wondered about the relationship between email and other means of social contact. Some studies test the replacement hypothesis by examining whether the frequency of email messages sent or received corresponds to decreases (or even increases) in the frequency […]
On behalf of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the authors would like to acknowledge contributions to this study by the following people: Shyon Baumann, Victoria Boase, Wenhong Chen, Rochelle Côté, David Lazer, Bonnie Erickson, Jane Fountain, Bernie Hogan, Miki Itano, Tracy Kennedy, and Beverly Wellman. This material is based upon work supported by […]
Summary of Findings Nine months before the midterm elections, the Democrats hold a sizable lead in the congressional horse race and an advantage on most major issues. Democrats lead by 50%-41% among registered voters in the test ballot, which is little changed from last September (52%-40%). While retaining a huge advantage on traditional party strengths […]
One in ten internet users have gone to a dating website. About one in ten (11%) internet users who responded to our survey said they had ever gone to a dating website where they could meet people online.[13.numoffset=”13″ Similar data from comScore Media Metrix gathered in the month of January 2006 shows that 14% of […]
Key West, Florida Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in May 2006 for the Pew Forum’s biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Michael Cook, widely considered among the most outstanding scholars on the history of Islam, is the author of several classic works on […]
Large social networks provide opportunities and burdens. The opportunities provided by large social networks are obvious. There are more people to socialize with and to provide social capital. There is the possibility for more diversity in larger networks, and that expands the kinds of experiences people share within a network and the kinds of resources […]
There has been an explosion in the modes and reach of remote communication. When Wellman conducted his early studies of social ties in 1968 and 1979,[8.numoffset=”8″ See Wellman (1979) and Wellman and Wortley (1990).] the results were relatively straightforward. Americans either telephoned (using traditional “landline” phones, of course)[9. There is no popular term for traditional […]
Does the internet degrade friendship, kinship, civic involvement, and social capital? One of the great debates about the internet is what it is doing to the relationships that Americans have with friends, relatives, neighbors, and workmates. On the one hand, many extol the internet’s abilities to extend our relationships — we can contact people across […]