WASHINGTON - CONTRARY to popular belief, technology is not leading to social isolation and Americans who use the Internet and mobile phones have larger and more diverse social networks, according to a new study.
'All the evidence points in one direction,' said Keith Hampton, lead author of the report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project released on Wednesday.
'People's social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies. It is a mistake to believe that Internet use and mobile phones plunge people into a spiral of isolation,' said Prof Hampton, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
The authors said key findings of the study - 'Social Isolation and New Technology' - challenge previous research and commonplace fears about the harmful social impact of new technology. 'There is a tendency by critics to blame technology first when social change occurs,' Prof Hampton said.
The study found that six per cent of Americans can be described as socially isolated - lacking anyone to discuss important matters with or who they consider to be 'especially significant' in their life. That figure has hardly changed since 1985, it said.
The study examined people's discussion networks - those with whom they discuss important matters - and core networks - their closest and most significant confidants. -- AFP
