The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?
Abstract
The Internet could change the lives of average citizens as much as did the telephone in the early part of the 20th century and television in the 1950s and 1960s. Researchers and social critics are debating whether the Internet is improving or harming participation in community life and social relationships. This research examined the social and psychological impact of the Internet on 169 people in 73 households during their first 1 to 2 years on-line. We used longitudinal data to examine the effects of the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being. In this sample, the Internet was used extensively for communication. Nonetheless, greater use of the Internet was associated with declines in participants' communication with family members in the household, declines in the size of their social circle, and increases in their depression and loneliness. These findings have implications for research, for public policy and for the design of technology.
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In the citing paper
“those with internet addictions in all its forms engage in fewer social activities, spend less time with family and friends, and experience less family closeness”
From Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction (2021) · cites this paper as Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, and Scherlis (1998)
In the citing paper
“The displacement hypothesis posits that ISAs will displace our human relationships, thus increasing loneliness29,30.”
From Loneliness and suicide mitigation for students using GPT3-enabled chatbots (2024) · cites this paper as [29]
In the citing paper
“Use of the internet for entertainment purposes – as a solitary, socially disengaged activity comparable to passive consumption of social media content without active engagement – is thought to displace time spent socialising with others offline, subsequently undermining social connectedness [11, 12].”
From Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“Where used for communication purposes, online engagement and expansion of social networks were thought to be primarily with weak ties rather than with close family and friends, and as such, of little benefit to psychosocial well-being [11, 13].”
From Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“These more potentially hollow popularity-based aspects of friendships are indicative of ‘weak’ ties – a superficial type of peer support compared to the deeper benefits of strong affective ties defined by close emotional, tangible support, mutual respect and trust [11].”
From Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“Rather than ‘weak ties’ of vast online networks suggested by the displacement hypothesis [11], these were presented as close friendships whose enduring existence was stimulated by SMU in the absence of opportunities for offline interaction.”
From Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“We found some limited evidence in favour of the displacement hypothesis [11], whereby time spent using social media was felt by some participants to displace time spent socialising with family or friends face-to-face.”
From Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: a qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation (2021) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“the displacement hypothesis (Kraut et al. 1998) was first proposed in the early days of the Internet. This hypothesis suggested that the quality of individuals’ offline relationships would suffer as a result of Internet use because high-quality offline relationships would be replaced with time spent in low-quality online interactions.”
From Transformation of Adolescent Peer Relations in the Social Media Context: Part 1—A Theoretical Framework and Application to Dyadic Peer Relationships (2018) · cites this paper as Kraut et al. 1998
In the citing paper
“These findings may be explained, in part, by some combination of various media effects theories that have been proposed [115], including the displacement hypothesis [116, 117].”
From Screen time and mental health: a prospective analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (2024) · cites this paper as [116]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukophadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W.
- Affiliations
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- ORCID
- Kraut, Robert
- Venue
- American Psychologist
- Published
- 1998
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1017-1031
- ISSN
- 0003-066X (ISSN-L)
- 1935-990X
- OpenAlex
- W2147050295
- Cited by
- 4,793
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 170 · 2025: 172 · 2024: 195 · 2023: 216 · 2022: 216 · 2021: 218 · 2020: 214 · 2019: 190 · 2018: 164 · 2017: 199 · 2016: 180 · 2015: 250 · 2014: 222 · 2013: 219 · 2012: 217
- FWCI
- 340.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Keywords
- internet use, social engagement, psychological well-being, depression, loneliness, family communication, social networks, interpersonal relationships, technology and society, online communication
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Family Health, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Pennsylvania, Social Isolation, Linear Models, Internet
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