by John B. Horrigan

About the author: John B. Horrigan is a senior researcher at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, an initiative of the Pew Research Center that studies the Internet’s growth and societal impact.

In recent years, there has been concern about the social impact of the Internet on several levels. One major worry was that use of the Internet would prompt people to withdraw from social engagement and become isolated, depressed, and alienated. A related fear was that Internet users might abandon contact with their local communities as they discovered how easy it is to go online to communicate with those in other parts of the world and get information from every point on the planet.

We surveyed 1,697 Internet users in January and February [2001] to explore the breadth and depth of community...