The Internet in Everyday Life: An Introduction

The changing presence of the Internet from a medium for elites to one in common usein our everyday lives raises important questions about its impact on access to resources,social interaction, and commitment to local community. This book brings together studiesthat cover the impact of "the Internet" in everyday life in the United States, Canada,Britain, Germany, India, Japan, and globally. These studies show the Internet as a complexlandscape of applications, purposes, and users. This introduction begins by summarizingresults from studies in this book and other recent research to provide an overview ofthe Internet population and its activities - statistics that help define and articulate thenature of the digital divide.We move from there to consideration of the social consequencesof adding Internet activity to our daily lives, exploring how use of the Internetaffects traditional social and communal behaviors such as communication with local familyand commitment to geographical communities.We