Bio:

Keith N. Hampton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Toronto in sociology, and a B.A. in sociology from the University of Calgary. Before joining the faculty at Rutgers, he was an assistant professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, and Assistant Professor and Class of '43 Chair in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Social Media and Social Well-Being? - This study combines a longitudinal, nationally representative survey with transaction data on the use of a social networking service. The project explores the relationship between the use/nonuse of social network services and other information and communication technologies, the structure of people’s social networks, health, tolerance, social capital, and other measures of well-being

Social Interaction in Public Spaces: A Longitudinal Study - This study utilizes an archive of Super 8 time-lapse films of public spaces from New York and around the world that were made in the 1970s through the present day by William H. Whyte and the Project for Public Spaces. The content of these tapes is being compared qualitatively to digital video of the same and comparable public spaces captured 2007-2010. The goal is to measure change in everyday public interactions over time and as result of mobile phones and other societal changes.

Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community Survey - A nationally representative telephone survey of 2,500 adults. This project examines the role of the Internet and mobile phone in how people interact with members of their social networks. Results from this national survey explore the role of new technology in social isolation, the size and diversity of core networks, participation in neighborhoods, voluntary groups, public spaces, and the diversity of people's social networks. Key findings challenge previous research and fears about the harmful social impact of new technology.

The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces - It is unclear if wireless Internet use in public spaces will facilitate greater engagement with co-present others, or encourage social disengagement. This study investigates how mobile technologies, focusing on Wi-Fi use but not excluding mobile phones, video games, portable music devices, etc., impact the use of public space. Updating William H. Whyte's classic study of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, this project is based on observations of seven wireless Internet enabled public parks, plazas and markets in Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto. The goal is to identify how mobile devices augment local interactions and people's social networks more broadly.

i-Neighbors.org - A free, public resource at www.i-neighbors.org where people can find their geographic neighborhoods online and form corresponding digital communities. The i-Neighbors project investigates in detail the specific contexts where Internet use affords local interactions and facilitates community involvement. i-Neighbors supports over 8,000 neighborhoods in the US and Canada and delivers over half a million messages to neighbors each month.

Lost-letter Experiment - A variation on Stanley Milgram's lost-letter technique. In the summer of 2001 more than 5,000 stamped and self-addressed letters were “lost” in 80+ urban areas in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. The proportion of returned (open/unopened) letters from each area is an indicator of helping behavior. In the summer of 2011 the project will enter its second phase, letters will again be “lost”. Variation will be explored over time (pre and post 9/11), country, urban area (using census data), and as a result of information and communication technologies.