[Air-l] The Internet Is Changing The Way Canadians Socialize

[Rhiannon Bury]

Interesting story, Michael. It does go somewhat against my (very) 
anecdotal evidence based on discussions with my communications students 
in the past couple of years. Most had never heard of  IRC,  MUDs/MOOs or 
Usenet. Their preferred method of interacting with others online  was by 
far ICQ and other messaging systems. The thing I found particularly 
interesting was that they had NO interest in meeting new people online; 
they wanted to communicate more easily with people they already knew 
from campus and from home.

Rhiannon Bury
Women's Studies
University of Waterloo

Michael Gurstein wrote:

>Vancouver, BC - Online Canadians, especially young online Canadians, are
>embracing the Internet as a way to meet new friends and stay in touch
>with old friends according to an Ipsos-Reid study. Almost seven-in-ten
>online Canadians (69%) have used the Internet for social interaction.
>This includes such activities as taking part in online chat, playing
>games with other people, using the Internet to contact someone they've
>lost touch with, participating in forums or bulletin board discussions,
>using online personals or dating services, or taking part in an online
>telephone call. Younger online Canadians are especially likely to use
>the Internet in their social lives. In fact, 82% of those 18-34 years of
>age have taken part in some form of online social activities. The study
>involved 1,000 telephone interviews with Canadian adults and 1,000
>online interviews with Canadian Internet users in September and October.
>
>
>http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2008
>
>
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