As social media ecosystems have developed over time, questions over the dynamics between the online and real worlds — the degree to which they overlap — have been the subject of speculation, debate and research. What sorts of correlations can be drawn between online interactions and face-to-face friendships?
While online social contact can be traced back to the 1980s, online dating began to gain more prominence — and participants — around 1997, according to a 2011 study by the Oxford Internet Institute. The incorporation of Web 2.0 interactive technologies and database support helped online dating to steadily expand: Before 1997, only 6% of singles searched for potential companions online; after 1997, 30% of singles did.
The Internet is thick with social networks, but it is not clear which conditions favor the rapid spread of information or the adoption of behaviors offline. One theory maintains that an online network with more “weak ties” and overall connections can quickly and efficiently encourage the adoption of a given social behavior. A competing theory suggests that a network with more clusters of overlapping connections can better promote that behavior by delivering the same message to an individual multiple times.
As part of our ongoing collaboration with Nieman Journalism Lab, we’ve rounded up the latest in digital- and media-oriented scholarship — picking highlights from disciplines such as computer science, political science, journalism research and communications.
Political campaigns embraced online media such as websites and blogs in the 2004 presidential election. However, campaign 2008 was truly the first time that Web 2.0 technologies — those that allow for more wide-open social interactivity and networking — played a major role in a presidential race. One outstanding research question remains whether or not such technologies will ultimately narrow or broaden the marketplace of ideas to which citizens are exposed.
