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

[Maximilian C. Forte]

The article forwarded by Michael raised or reminded me of an issue I find
interesting. With such high numbers I have wondered if some individuals
might associate prestige and modern up-scale living with the use of
information technology and report that, yes, they do make use of the
Internet for x,y and z purposes. This article mentions that the numbers were
gathered, in part, from telephone interviews. I don't have any real reason
for doubting the findings and, I realize this is purely anecdotal, but I
recall some working class youths in Adelaide, Australia, who stated that
they needed to be seen with a cell phone or else be thought of as "poor"
(the word I recall was "pov"). Some even purchased fake cell phones and I
assume that occasionally they would have conversations with imaginary
partners. I have no idea of percentages here. In Trinidad I met elderly
individuals who felt shame in lacking literacy and would proudly take my
consent forms and struggle to print their name, all the while protesting, "I
can't write without my glasses". Perhaps there are studies on this issue
concerning claimed Internet usage? If so, I would like to learn more.

Best wishes,

Maximilian C. Forte
Anthropology
University College of Cape Breton

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rhiannon Bury" <welshwitch75 at rogers.com>
To: <air-l at aoir.org>
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Air-l] The Internet Is Changing The Way Canadians Socialize


> 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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