The Informed Brain in a Digital World Interdisciplinary Research Team Summaries (2013) / Chapter Skim
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IDR Team Summary 4: Identify the ways in which the Internet positively and negatively impacts social behavior.
IDR Team Summary 4: Identify the ways in which the Internet positively and negatively impacts social behavior.
Pages 39-50
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From page 39... ...
Though forming social networks is not new, what is new is that electronic networks can help people to maintain networks, but also to expand the reach of their networks. The Internet enables new forms of organizing at an unprecedented scale, from creating distributed social groups to mobilizing political action.
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From page 40... ...
• Does the availability of online social networking increase or decrease the openness to new ideas? Does online social interaction encourage "assortative friendship" in which individuals interact only with others who agree with them on fundamental issues?
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From page 41... ...
• How do electronic social networks influence health behaviors, both positive and negative? Social support is an important component of many health interventions and social networks may be implicated in health issues (e.g., obesity)
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From page 42... ...
Online activity could affect not just the number of offline social contacts people have but also the content of offline conversations, the emotional character of those conversations, and the exit strategy for any given interaction with an online "friend." In particular, IDR Team 4A looked at the difference between strong ties and weak ties in the offline and online worlds. Weak ties were defined as acquaintances or contacts that could not be relied on as a strong support system, and were less frequent, intense, pervasive, and reciprocal in nature than strong ties.
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From page 43... ...
Strong ties in a digital world While acknowledging that the beginnings of strong ties can be created in an online world, Team IDR 4A agreed that in order to fulfill some of the components of strong ties, the online relationship would need to move offline. Complicating this, the team realized that we currently conceptualize offline strong ties as important for personal and societal development, but we do not know to what degree face-to-face communication will be valued in the 21st/22nd century world.
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From page 44... ...
. Examining Strong Ties To investigate the potential displacement of strong ties in a digital world, the following research questions were developed: • What factors are critical to creating, maintaining, and preserving strong ties offline that can be brought online?
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From page 45... ...
For example, there is recent literature to support ideas like "Rich Get Richer" and "Social Compensation." In the former, the online social sphere is beneficial for extroverts who are able to continue their many and frequent offline interactions in the digital world and can even expand the size of their networks and become even more popular online. In the latter, introverts can use the digital world to create new social interactions and the beginnings of new strong ties that would not normally occur in offline life.
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From page 46... ...
Smith, Indiana University • Diane M Sullenberger, National Academy of Sciences • Kelly Tucker, Texas A&M University IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 4B Kelly Tucker, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar Texas A&M University IDR Team 4B was tasked with identifying the ways in which the I nternet positively and negatively impacts social behavior.
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From page 47... ...
This aspect of the broader challenge also covers topics such as the formation of polarized groups that exist in online "echo chambers" and how users feel that they have a right to have their voices heard online regardless of credentials or background. The Current Online Landscape One of the most important features of the Internet is the lack of b arriers to information production and distribution.
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From page 48... ...
The IDR Team identified five major filters:
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From page 49... ...
After determining this baseline, further studies could explore the strategies users implement to manage filters and whether increased filter awareness could alter their behavior in seeking, evaluating, and using information from the Internet. If behavior can be altered, what sort of intervention would be both appropriate and effective?
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From page 50... ...
The Benefits of Understanding Social Behavior and the Internet The IDR Team concluded their discussion by examining the broad benefits that may result from a better understanding of how the Internet affects social behavior. The group identified governance (not to be restricted to government)
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