The Medium Internet - Harming or Promoting Social Capital?

von Anonymous

16 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Social Studies (General), grade: 1,33, Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH, language: English, abstract: While writing this essay, it became clear to me that our upcoming generation can hardlyimagine how this world looked like, before the triumph of the internet about ten years agoturned our information-based society upside down. Internet has taken up an enormous speedof growing, that justifies labeling it the Super Medium. Participation is easy and cheap; thereis not much technology or expertise necessary, while at the same time traditional forms ofmedia, such as print media, letters, or the telephone are all combined and readily available.Pertaining to the course background of this paper, the networking component of this mediumobviously plays a central role. The Internet facilitates finding partners for any form ofinteraction. Networking, furthermore, is possible on the societal and the individual levelwhich is a unique feature. These and many more characteristics call for a more detailedexamination of the internet with regards to Social Capital. Widespread research about thisrelation has already been conducted, yet outcomes and interpretations vary drastically.This paper will bring more order in this conflicting field by tackling the question whether theinternet has a positive or negative impact on Social Capital. Thus, first a precise definition ofSocial Capital is provided. Followed by this, positive arguments about the internet arepresented and underpinned by existing research findings. The third section then focuses onmajor refutations of the internet propagating Social Capital. Ultimately, a concise comparisonof both 'sides' shows that the positive impact of the internet overall prevails.

• Reihe: Aus der Reihe: e-fellows.net stipendiaten-wissen
• Themen: Gesellschaft und Sozialwissenschaften Gesellschaft und Kultur, allgemein
• ISBN: 9783640964826
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 22.07.2011
• Größe: 210 x 148 mm
• Verlag: GRIN Verlag