By Eric Chu, echu508
@ stanford.edu
INTRODUCTION
>> A debate my mother and I always have
whenever she finds me sitting in front of the computer
is whether or not I'm really doing "anything"
when I sit there. I let her win when she catches me
playing computer games, but when I'm using instant messaging,
I'm not too sure that she's right. Hence, in an attempt
to throw the odds against my mother, I decided to do
some research. I hypothesized that IM, unlike what my
mother posits, is a social bonding tool--like using
the telephone.
>> Some researchers,
like Nie, Hillygus, and Erbring, believe that time spent
on the Internet can be socially detrimental. Because
IM belongs as a part of Internet use, I and two of my
classmates studied the social effects of IM on interpersonal
relationships. Allen Cheung [see
his results] studied IM's effect on friendships
within the Stanford campus, Juan Marquez [see
his results] studied the effects of IM within the
dorm, and I studied the effects of IM on distant friendships.
>> My study, based
on personal experience, interviews, and an informal
(non-scientific) survey of 120 Stanford students, reveals
that neither my mom nor myself are fully correct. Instead,
a sort of paradox exists between IM usage and socialization.
IM takes up much more time than traditional interactions
and is much less intimate than face-to-face interactions;
however, most students (91%) use it to communicate with
distant friends (friends not on campus) and strengthen
their relationships. IM can also be used to foster romantic
relationships (see Abe's project) and gender
interactions (see Chris's project), but
my study focuses more on the pros and cons of using
IM and its effects on pre-established friendships.
|
