The Networked Question in the Digital Age? The Shapes of Community Through the Life-Course

• In Event: 1451 - Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 16. Social Ties and Collective Efficacy

Abstract

Although there has been much discussion about “networked individualism,” there has been little evaluation since Wellman first proposed the concept in 2001. Meanwhile, the populace has become even more networked with the internet and mobile devices connecting them. We present the first paper to evaluating the prevalence of “networked individualism” in the era of digital media. We use in-depth interviews with 101 participants in the East York section of Toronto, Canada to understand how digital media affects community in general--and networked individualism in particular--for people at different stages of the life-course. Although people of all ages intertwine their use of digital media with their face-to-face interactions, younger adults use more types of digital media. People in different age-groups conserve media, tending to stick with the digital media they initially used. We develop a typology of networked individualism. One-third of the participants are Networked Individuals: At each age, they are most actively using digital media to maintain ties and to develop new ones. Another one-third are Socially Bounded, often actively using digital media but keeping their connectivity within a smaller set of existing groups. The one-third who are Socially Limited are least likely to use digital media. Community, age, digital media use, and networked individualism are interrelated.

Authors

• Barry Wellman, NetLab Network

• Anabel Quan-Haase, University of Western Ontario

• Molly-Gloria Harper, University of Western Ontario