Sociology Professor John Campbell considers the Internet an invaluable communication resource -- he exchanges documents through e-mail twice a day with his research colleagues sitting 3,000 miles away in Europe.
The Internet has greatly facilitated Campbell's research and communication by speeding up the process. He no longer has to play phone tag -- his friends and colleagues reach him much more quickly.
But many people hardly consider the widespread use of the Internet to constitute real communication, and a large number believe that increased use of computers has contributed to social isolation and depression. What Campbell considers to be virtues of the Internet, others believe are vices.
Indeed, the Internet revolution has left a strong mark on society today, extensively transforming our economic and social lives. Many researches have gone so far as to equate the invention of the Internet to that of the television or the telephone. By 1998, more than 40 percent of U.S. households had a personal computer and roughly one-third of these homes had Internet access.
While some scholars believe that the Internet causes people to become socially isolated, others argue that it improves relationships by freeing people from the constraints of geography, stigma, illness or schedule.
Campbell falls on the side of the debate that stresses the positive contributions of the Internet.
"I don't think communication is less personal," he said. "You can say whatever you want on e-mail."
In his book titled "The Virtual Community," Howard Rheingold writes that the Internet allows people to join groups on the basis of common interests. He argues that these social aggregations or virtual communities are gaining more and more political, economic and social influence -- in recent years, non-governmental organizations have used the Internet to spread their messages and substantially increase their memberships.
Applauding the Internet, Rheingold writes, "Connectivity between networks is achieving a critical mass around the world -- the means of jacking in are becoming affordable every day, and the expertise needed to set up these networks is diffusing rapidly."
According to sociology professor Raymond Hall, the Internet could be a useful information resource for children, providing them with access to a world of information that they could not easily find elsewhere.
However, more and more children are getting hooked, spending too much of their spare time surfing the Internet.
Asserting that he worries about this trend, Hall said he is still not convinced that surfing the Internet can be a fair substitute for the time children spend reading books or playing outside with friends -- activities that help develop their cognitive abilities.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University studied the impact of Internet use for 12-to-24-month period among about 90 families from eight diverse backgrounds in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The results showed that greater use of the Internet was associated with small, but statistically significant declines in social involvement -- measured by communication within the family and the size of social networks. Greater use of the Internet also led to increase in loneliness, depression and stress.
The Carnegie Mellon researchers hypothesized that the time people devote to using the Internet might substitute for the time they had previously spent engaging in social activities. They also argued that online friendships are likely to be more limited than friendships supported by physical proximity.
In his 1995 article "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital," Robert Putnam documented a broad decline in civic engagement and social participation in the last 35 years in the United States. Putnam argued that citizens vote less, practice religion less, discuss government less and are members of fewer voluntary organizations.
The Carnegie Mellon researchers argue that Internet could exacerbate these trends, depending on the how it is used.
Indeed, the Internet has presented us with many substantive advantages. But many argue that this technological innovation has completely overtaken our lives in the last decade -- and our social behavior warrants greater research and attention.
Hall sums it up when he says that similar to other dominating technology such as the television and telephone, the same rule applies to Internet usage -- moderation.
