Social Implications of the Internet

This article from the Annual Review of Sociology is very interesting. As a Mass Com major I have taken many different classes about the impact that different sources of media has on audiences, but have not studied the internet as the specific source of media.

The threat that the internet has on television is a growing concern for many. Will the internet completely get rid of the use of television or is TV unique enough to offer audiences something completely different than what the internet can offer. This article delves into how people change their habits according to what new technologies are presented to them.

New technologies are typically hard to study because it is unknown the effects it will have on audiences. With the internet, you can look back on research done about users to understand the trends that are taking place. With the internet we can see that people are using it to watch television at a growing rate, but they do not use it to replace their typical television viewing. Rather, they use it in conjunction to their television.