new paper published: core networks, social isolation, and new media

new paper published: core networks, social isolation, and new media

\’Core Networks, Social Isolation, and New Media,\’ my paper with Lauren Sessions Goulet and Eun Ja Her, on how the Internet and mobile phone use is related to network size and diversity was published in the February issue of Information, Communication & Society. The article has been made available for free from Routledge. You can also view a short video of me discussing the paper and the findings.

This paper was the result of a 2008 survey of core social networks (strong ties) and new media use. Evidence from the 2004 US General Social Survey (GSS) suggested that during the past 20 years, people became increasingly socially isolated and their core discussion networks became smaller and less diverse. One explanation offered for this trend is the use of mobile phones and the Internet. This study replicates and expands on the GSS network methodology to explore the relationship between the use of new technologies and the size and diversity of core networks. The findings conflict with the results of the 2004 GSS, i.e. we find that social isolation has not increased since 1985. However, the current study supports the conclusions that the size of core networks has declined and the number of nonkin in core networks has diminished. Mobile phone and Internet use, especially specific uses of social media, were found to have a positive relationship to network size and diversity. In discussing these trends, we speculate that specific social media provide for a \’pervasive awareness\’ within personal networks that has increased the specialization of close ties. We argue that this same pervasive awareness provides for heightened surveillance of network members, the result of which is a higher level of perceived diversity within networks based on metrics that include political affiliation.