Community Networking and Locally‐Based Social Ties in Two Suburban Localities

Abstract

Concerns have been expressed that Internet use may affect social participation and involvement in the local community. Internet use can be viewed as a time‐consuming activity, and it may come at the expense of face‐to‐face activities. The time people devote to using the Internet might replace time spent on neighborly relations and community involvement. However, the use of computer‐mediated communication in geographically‐based communities might also increase face‐to‐face communication and even solve some of the problems associated with decreasing participation and involvement in the local community. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between membership in a geographically‐based mailing list and locally‐based social ties. A web‐based survey of subscribers to two suburban mailing lists in Israel was conducted to investigate the relationship between membership in a mailing list and neighborhood social ties, social ties in the extended community, and the movement from online to face‐to‐face relationships. It was found that although membership on the mailing list did not affect the extent of neighborhood interactions, it increased the number of individuals a participant knew in the community. Online relationships with members of the local community proved likely to change into face‐to‐face relationships. The results imply that community networking increases social involvement and participation not in the immediate neighborhood but in the extended community and serves to complement traditional channels of communication.