Electronic communication and social networks

3 Questions: Does the internet weaken community? Because people replace in-person relationship with time spent online and out of the public realm? Does the internet transform community? Is a new online ‘virtual community’ emerging that allows people to participate in trans-local communities, freed of the bonds of geography? Does the internet enhance community? By adding new forms of communication with which to sustain relationships?

Benefits of community: Companionship Support Access to information A sense of belonging A means of aggregating and expressing hopes and grievances

Fragmentation or Integration? While communities are composed of people similar in some respects, they are rarely completely homogeneous Differences, like mutations in biology, are an important source of vitality for communities (innovation, information, friction, strength) Do ECTs create isolated islands or bridges between worlds?

Why fragmentation? Going online as escape from ‘real’ life The “Digital Divide” (some have access to technology, some don’t) The “Daily Me” (easy to filter what you see) The “Echo chamber” Easy to find others who agree with you online Easy to ignore those who disagree with you online

Why integration? Connect across geography Easy to communicate with many people simultaneously There’s so much content out there that it’s easy to stumble upon unfamiliar content, discover new things, encounter new ways of looking at the world

A study of political blogs Hargittai, Gallo, and Kane “Cross- ideological discussions among conservative and liberal bloggers.” Public Choice 2008 Research Question: How much engagement with the ‘other side’ is evident in political blogs? Blog: regularly updated website that posts entries in reverse-chronological order without editorial oversight

Left Right

Sample of Blogs

Method Collected content of each blog for 3 week-long periods June 6-12, 2004 (week before conventions) October 24-30, 2004 (week before Presidential election) March 13-19, 2005 (nothing special) Downloaded all content as text Coded all links to other sampled blogs (links in posts, links in blogroll)

Descriptives N = 5709 entries N = 883 links to other blogs 15 % of entries include a link to a sampled blog (Many other links as well, to mainstream news, etc.) Blogroll links

Liberal Conservative

Within post links Liberal Conservative

Summary so far Most links are to other blogs with similar ideological position However, no evidence of complete isolation in political blogs

Qualitative Analysis What is going on in these links? Strawman arguments Disagreement on substance Neutral non-political Redirect Agreement on substance C→LL→C 43%54% 12%16% 5%6% 36%19% 14%5%

Conclusions Political commentators much more likely to engage those who agree with them Some engagement with the “other side” Small amount of substantive engagement Dominant pattern: fragmentation A few “weak ties”…

3 Questions: Does the internet weaken community? Because people replace in-person relationship with time spent online and out of the public realm? Does the internet transform community? Is a new online ‘virtual community’ emerging that allows people to participate in trans-local communities, freed of the bonds of geography? Does the internet enhance community? By adding new forms of communication with which to sustain relationships?