Study on Impact of Online Participation on Real Life Communities

On September 19, 2009, I recorded the amount of time spent on each online activity. Surprisingly, the total amount of time accumulated to 7.33 hours. A study by Erbring, Hillygus, and Nie shows that “the more time spent on the Internet, the less time spent with friends, family, and colleagues” (238). The number of hours spent online undoubtedly has the potential to impact participation in real life communities. With time being spent on a computer rather than with community members, it would make it difficult to augment participation within a real community. The data provided below shows the time spent in a single day online.

However, the time spent on the Internet should not be treated as a separate entity from real life communities. In fact, the Internet was acting as an extension to my community. By providing a form of communication unbounded by geographical location, I was able to continue my involvement in the community without having to be next to it. For example, through face book, e-mails, and chatting, which took up a total of 2 hours, I received an extensive amount of information on involvement opportunities and events from my Chi Psi Fraternity and Georgia Tech community, giving me the opportunity to be more involved in real communities. By offering a form of communication that is practically instantaneous in transmitting information, the Internet has the potential to save time rather than take away. Even though 2.5 hours was spent on my virtual community, the overall time spent online did not detract from my involvement in real life communities, but rather contributed to it.

Works Cited

Nie, Norman H., Sunshine Hillygus, and Lutz Erbring. The Internet in Everyday Life (The Information Age). Grand Rapids: Blackwell Limited, 2002. 215-243.