A Monkey Looking at a Watch

Abstract

Abtract: This paper proposes that to understand the meanings that technological innovation holds for social life, empirical evidence must accompany theoretical analysis. Using data from the large-scale and longitudinal UK-wide futura.com survey conducted by the University of Leeds (UK), the key questions of emergent technologies' relationships to the formation of social solidarity and identity, and the patterns of social activities found among IT users are addressed. The evidence to date does not support the argument that technological innovation is directly linked to changes in identity, or is resulting in declining levels of social activity. IT uptake is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary process.