Just been reading the “Technology not isolating us” press release about the latest findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. They say "It turns out that those who use the Internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages”. 

For me the  jury is still out on this one. Research we’ve done as part of our access and use project has been conflicting in this area. Certainly technology helps people stay in touch and as we have explored in a presentation on how ICTs are blurring and reconstituting boundaries> Iit does facilitate a certain affective aspect to students learning experiences providing emotional support and encouragement. Yet students also talk about how technology is invading their privacy and proving a distraction from "real life". We explore some of these complexities in a new book chapter thats coming out soon in a book on Rethinking students learning in the digital age

The PEW study seems to be assuming that an increase in people's online social networks  means they’re not socially isolated. But just because someone has a large online social network  eg lots of facebook  friends etc it  doesn’t mean that this is necessarily a good thing for their social interaction does it? (see Dangers of the Social Web)

Although as I observed in a previous blog posting, I think without ICTs as a doorway into the outside world, some students living in residences in rural universities would go mad. For them ICTs connect them with others, and offer entertainment and stress relief that they can’t find in a face to face physical environment.

So personally I think we just need to be cautious on making value judgements about whether the social impact of ICTs is a good or bad thing. We have a lot more to understand and with the territory being so new. As  Elaine Helsper put it in a paper about youths use of ICTs, we don’t really know what the unexpected consequences might be. 

References

Hampton, K, Sessions, Ja Her, E & Rainie, L. (2009) Social isolation and new technology. Pew Internet and the American life project.  

Helsper, E. (2008). "Digital natives and ostrich tactis: The possible implications of labelling young people." Beyond Current Horizons

Sigman, A. (2009) Interview With Online Educa Berlin on Dangers of the Social Web

Czerniewicz, L & Brown, C. (2009) Blurring and reconstituting boundaries: ICT-mediated learning in a developing country context. Presented at the 3rd WLE Mobile Learning Symposium, 27 March 2009, London School of Education.

Czerniewicz, L & Brown, C. (in press) Strengthening and weakening boundaries: students negotiating technology mediated learning. In Sharpe, R,  Beetham, H and de Freitas, S. (Eds) Rethinking learning for a digital age: how learners are shaping their own experiences. Routledge.