Mass Media Use and Social Life Among Internet Users

The mass media use and social life of heavy, light, and nonusers of the Internet and personal computers are compared based on a fall 1998 survey of 3,993 nationally representative respondents age 18 and older. As in previous surveys, no significant or consistent evidence of time displacement of such media or social activities was found. Indeed, Internet users showed signs of more active social lives than non-users. These results reinforce the conclusion that personal computer/Internet use may have more in common with time-enhancing home appliances such as the telephone than they do with the time-displacing technology of television.