Impact of Digital Communication: Relationships

Question 1

Granovetter

Answer 1

POSITIVE:
• Granovetter says relationships are broken into weak ties (acquaintances) and strong ties (close friends/family)
• He says weak ties are as important as strong ties as they create connections between members of network
• They connect people who have little in common with and potentially wouldn’t have strong ties in real life
• Therefore, the removal of a weak tie can have more damage to someone’s social network than the removal of a strong tie

Question 2

Turkle

Answer 2

NEGATIVE:
• Sociologist Turkle (2011) expresses concerns about the ways in which digital communication distance us from one another.
• He says we are ‘alone together’- all in the same room but using our devices to communicate with others who aren’t there or for different tasks, meaning people’s offline relationships may suffer due to the amount of time people spend online.

Question 3

Kraut

Answer 3

POSITIVE:
• The idea that the internet is negative on social ties is argued against as people who use it for social purposes are able to maintain their offline relationships

Question 4

Feld

Answer 4

POSITIVE:
• Feld says that people use social networks to evaluate themselves and others and one’s network is directly linked to the number of strong and weak ties a person can maintain.
• Digital communication gives people another opportunity to meet people and contact them immediately if needed.
• It gives people the chance to meet others who they would not usually interact with and helps break down barriers such as disability or shyness.

Question 5

Miller

Answer 5

NEGATIVE:
• Miller (2011) stated that older people are now using Facebook and it now seems to be the main way people find and encourage relationships.
• However, it can also break up relationships and marriages.
• He states that it can challenge people’s privacy and create social problems and people believe another person’s lies more online than face-to-face.

Question 6

Russell Clayton

Answer 6

NEGATIVE:
• Russell Clayton spoke to 581 Twitter users of all ages and asked if their activity online causes conflict with partners.
• He found that internet use such as Twitter led to negative effects on relationships, including infidelity, emotional cheating, breakup and divorce.

Question 7

Shaw and Gant

Answer 7

NEGATIVE:
• Shaw and Gant felt the public had a negative opinion of the internet as it was related to depression, loneliness and stress.
• They designed a study to test that internet usage can affect users beneficially.
• Participants engaged in five chat sessions with an anonymous partner.
• At three different stages they measured depression, loneliness, self-esteem and social support and changes in their scores were tracked over time.
• They found that internet use actually decreases loneliness and depression significantly, while social support and self-esteem increased significantly.