The Evolution of Social Ties in the Age of the Internet

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This research investigates the ways geographic mobility and communications, including computer-mediated communication, influence the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of personal and work relationships and the ways these factors influence people's ability to extract social resources from them. Maintaining personal relationships requires significant investment in time and money. Physical proximity makes building personal relationships easier, while geographic mobility puts relationships at risk. Large numbers of Americans are now using the Internet, with electronic mail and other services for interpersonal communication. The Internet can potentially reduce the constraints that geography imposes on social relationships. It may also influence the quality of relationships conducted online. This research examines whether use of Internet communication changes the number and quality of social relationships and the social support derived from them. By examining the content of communication conducted over different modalities (visits, phone calls, email and instant messaging), it will help identify the mechanisms through which communication leads to social support. The research will simultaneously be of interest to social scientists concerned with the basic processes underlying social and work relationships and to more applied researchers and policy makers interested in the impact of the Internet on social life.