Digital tools reinforce existing ties rather than create new communities

Evidence

Those scholars who see each other often or work nearer to each other email each other more often. Frequent contact on the Internet is a complement to frequent face-to-face contact, not a substitute for it. … “Dan Huttenlocher, professor of computer science at Cornell, argues that digital technologies are adept at maintaining communities already formed. They are less good at making them.” If the primary effect of computer-mediated communication is to reinforce rather than replace face-to-face relationships, however, then the Net is unlikely in itself to reverse the deterioration of our social capital. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 598

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Early online communities aimed to augment local place, not escape it — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 131; Existing social capital is a prerequisite for effective online interaction — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 586; Tech status hierarchies are made visible and reinforced through public digital connections — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 202 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Digital communities failed to replace lost physical association #corroborates (0.90) — Anton Jäger, Hyperpolitics, 97
• Early online communities aimed to augment local place, not escape it #corroborates (0.88) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 131
• Space-binding media create communities dispersed across distance rather than place #contradicts (0.85) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 623
• Existing social capital is a prerequisite for effective online interaction #corroborates (0.82) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 586
• Following others’ feeds strengthens friendships and community closeness #corroborates (0.82) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 566
• Tech status hierarchies are made visible and reinforced through public digital connections #corroborates (0.78) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 202