Abstract

This study explores the design and practice of the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV), a mature networked community. We describe findings from longitudinal survey data on the use and social impact of community computer networking. The survey data show that increased involvement with people, issues and community since going online is explained by education, extroversion and age. Using path models, we show that a person's sense of belonging and collective efficacy, group memberships, activism and social use of the Internet act as mediating variables. These findings extend evidence in support of the argument that Internet use can strengthen social contact, community engagement and attachment. Conversely, it underlines concern about the impact of computer networking on people with lower levels of education, extroversion, efficacy, and community belonging. We suggest design strategies and innovative tools for non-experts that might increase social interaction and improve usability for disadvantaged and underrepresented individuals and groups.

Keywords

Computer scienceOnline and offlineData scienceWorld Wide WebOperating system

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Publication Info

Year
2005
Type
article
Volume
10
Issue
4
Pages
00-00
Citations
274
Access
Closed

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Social Impact

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

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274
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Cite This

Andrea Kavanaugh, John M. Carroll, Mary Beth Rosson et al. (2005). Community Networks: Where Offline Communities Meet Online. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 10 (4) , 00-00. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00266.x

Identifiers

DOI
10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00266.x