Sociology of the Internet
The sociology of the Internet in the stricter sense concerns the analysis of online communities (e.g. as found in newsgroups), virtual communities and virtual worlds, organizational change catalyzed through new media such as the Internet, and social change at-large in the transformation from industrial to informational society (or to information society).
The World Wide Web as we know it was shaped in the mid-1990s, when graphical interface and services like email became popular and reached wider (non-scientific and non-military) audiences and commerce.
[7] Although the term digital sociology has not yet fully entered the cultural lexicon, sociologists have engaged in research related to the Internet since its inception.
[13] In March 2014, researchers from the Benedictine University at Mesa in Arizona studied how online interactions affect face-to-face meetings.
Recent research has taken the Internet of Things within its purview, as global networks of interconnected everyday objects are said to be the next step in technological advancement.
[17][18] Issues of privacy, right to information, legislation and content creation will come into public scrutiny in light of these technological changes.
Mass participation in viral events prompts users to spread information (data) to one another effecting psychological state of mind and emotions.
The link between digital sociology and data emotions is formed through the integration of technological devices within everyday life and activities.
Researchers have investigated the use of technology (as opposed to the Internet) by children and how it can be used excessively, where it can cause medical health and psychological issues.
[21] The use of technological devices by children can cause them to become addicted to them and can lead them to experience negative effects such as depression, attention problems, loneliness, anxiety, aggression and solitude.
The routines of children have changed due to the increasing popularity of internet connected devices, with Social Policy researcher Janet Heaton concluding that, "while the children's health and quality of life benefited from the technology, the time demands of the care routines and lack of compatibility with other social and institutional timeframes had some negative implications".
[25] Children's frequent use of technology commonly leads to decreased time available to pursue meaningful friendships, hobbies and potential career options.
While technology can have negative impacts on the lives of children, it can also be used as a valuable learning tool that can encourage cognitive, linguistic and social development.
Other countries including the United States, have enacted laws making the possession or distribution of certain material such as child pornography illegal but do not use filtering software.
[29] Electronic commerce may be responsible for consolidation and the decline of mom-and-pop, brick and mortar businesses resulting in increases in income inequality.
Kiva raises funds for local intermediary microfinance organizations which post stories and updates on behalf of the borrowers.
[31][32] However, the recent spread of cheap Internet access in developing countries has made genuine peer-to-peer connections increasingly feasible.
In 2009 the US-based nonprofit Zidisha tapped into this trend to offer the first peer-to-peer microlending platform to link lenders and borrowers across international borders without local intermediaries.
[33] The Internet has been a major source of leisure since before the World Wide Web, with entertaining social experiments such as MUDs and MOOs being conducted on university servers, and humor-related Usenet groups receiving much of the main traffic.
Today, many Internet forums have sections devoted to games and funny videos; short cartoons in the form of Flash movies are also popular.
The pornography and gambling industries have both taken full advantage of the World Wide Web, and often provide a significant source of advertising revenue for other websites.
This form of leisure creates communities, bringing people of all ages and origins to enjoy the fast-paced world of multiplayer games.
Many use the World Wide Web to access news, weather and sports reports, to plan and book holidays and to find out more about their random ideas and casual interests.
People use chat, messaging and e-mail to make and stay in touch with friends worldwide, sometimes in the same way as some previously had pen pals.
Cyberslacking has become a serious drain on corporate resources; the average UK employee spends 57 minutes a day surfing the Web at work, according to a study by Peninsula Business Services.
For example, numerous sociological articles,[48][49] and at least one book[50] have appeared on the use of such social media platforms as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as a means of conveying messages about activist causes and organizing political movements.
[55] Sociologists can search social networking sites (i.e. Facebook or Twitter) for posts related to a hotly-debated topic, then parse through and analyze the text.
MentionMapp shows how popular a hashtag is and Twitter Streamgraph depicts how often certain words are paired together and how their relationship changes over time.
The psychological implications of digital surveillance can cause people to have concern, worry, or fear about feeling monitored all the time.
Data collected from people using the internet can be subject to being monitored and viewed by private and public companies, friends, and other known or unknown entities.
