Rating: 
Summary: skipping towards syntopia
Review: "We have emphasized the positive aspects of the Internet to balance the intensely negative scholarly and journalistic criticisms of how the Internet is affecting U.S. society," concede Messers. Katz and Rice. It was wise of them to tip their hand like this at the end of the book, after they buttress their syntopic thesis of the Internet's potential and current uses with study after study about the long-emergent American digital culture in relation to politics, identity, civic involvement, and social networks. Studies revealing positive and negative trends are both treated with equal weight, and although there is a preponderance of the former, by the time I was finished reading, I was convinced the reason for that was because there's simply more evidence of the Internet-as-boon. Those who didn't take Intro to Stats will need to get some help before tackling the many tables head-on, although the authors do an excellent job of summarizing and synthesizing the studies' findings. Maybe I'm still not rushing out to join Syntopia, but I certainly appreciated the book's depiction of those who are, and its arguments for why they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Living in a Syntopian Paradise
Review: A very insigtful discourse on the impact of the internet from the perspective of a social scientist. The book thouroghly covers social implications of who has access to the internet, how it affects involvement in the community, and how it affects social interaction. The authors tend to have a very positive tone and opinion about internet use. In chapter 14, the conclusion, their predominant focus on the positive attributes of internet use demonstrates their opinion clearly. However, they are not utopian in their belief either. They are self-described syntopians: the moderates of social science research on the internet. They find a middle ground between the "dystopian nightmare and the utopian daydreams." The one aspect of the book that casts doubt on their syntopian paradise is the lack of experimentally supported causal data. There are many strong, significant correlations presented in the data; however, this leaves considerable room for doubt. The bottom line is that there have been few difinitive experimental studies done on this topic. The book uses the current data to present both ends of the debate well and wade through the muck and come to reasonable conclusions. It is a good representation of the current status of discourse in the field, and also shows how much more research needs to be done.
Rating:
Summary: Exhausting yet Informative
Review: As the title suggests, Katz and Rice's Social Consequences of Internet Use examines the social ramifications resulting from the profusion of internet usage in the past decade. The authors delineate "three central social issues of the internet: access, civic and community involvement, and social interaction and expression" (4). Within these three categories, the authors pose an assortment of novel and intriguing questions such as: Why would an internet user "dropout", that is, willingly give up his access; how does the internet affect politics, more especially elections; is social interaction via the internet even comparable to face-to-face interaction; and does the internet allow for more diversity of opinions or does it conversely perpetuate the status quo, as many critics argue? Through an assortment of surveys and case studies (home pages), and also data from both the Pew study and the American Life Project, Katz and Rice provide a thorough basis for their arguments. With much of the text being graphs, charts, and tables, the reader is easily able to correlate the sometimes difficult text to the more tangible graphs and charts. The reciprocal is also helpful. However, a large portion of the statistical data is based solely on correlations and therefore potentially not the most reliable data. But, the sheer abundance of the correlations should be sufficient enough to lend them validity. For the sake of the people who, after reading a review that is more or less a synopsis of an entire book forgo acquiring it, I will not divulge much. But I still feel obliged to at least provide an overview of their results. In short, Social Consequences of Internet Use theorizes that the internet is more of an extension of our already existing media. The authors claim that, contrary to both sides of the extremists (Utopian and Dystopian thinkers), the internet fits in better with a syntopian conceptualization, that is, neither Utopian nor Dystopian but a conglomeration of the two. Social Consequences of Internet Use is a thought-provoking book that tackles many social issues that have not had much attention in past research. If this field interests you, then this book is a must-have. However, due to the exhaustive and at times laborious reading, I would not recommend this book to dabblers or people looking for a leisurely read.
Rating:
Summary: An eye-opener?
Review: Comments on this book are that the figures are visualizing whatever the author's wish.
While this book breaks the ice, it is for the scholars, academics to update / modify this vision.
Overall, this book has serious work and content is highly useful for those who wish to see that even in the post-dotcom world, Internet is a useful (albeit communicable disease).
Rating: 
Summary: Good information when you spend the time to grasp it
Review: Katz and Rice do an excellent job tackling a new and complex issue that most writers and researchers have not even thought to think about. Our world has progressed to the stage of development and acceptance of the Internet where it is becoming more than a luxury, more than a novelty, more than a tool... it is becoming a part of our everyday lives. Because of this widespread acceptance, there are and will continue to be many different social consequences. Katz and Rice distinguish these consequences into three very clear categories and provide in-depth research to expound on and explain every claim that they make regarding the digital divide, social capital and the expression of identity.
The authors take what at first seems to be the "safe" stance by adopting what they call a "syntopian" view of the internet. At first glance, I thought they were being weak and neutral in their claim but as I read on, Katz and Rice explained that "both the dystopian nightmares and utopian daydreams are too extreme... we find that its [the internet] use by Americans is as an extension and enhancement of their daily routines." So, this is not the weak stance, it is the logical one. No, the internet is not going to ruin our lives, nor will it make them perfect. Katz and Rice believe that it will make our lives easier but not completely change our daily routines.
The graphs and statistics in this book are extremely intense and you should be prepared to rack your brain to remember all you've ever learned about statistics or set aside plenty of time to take a long, slow, deep look into the data they present... it is excellent research and data if you can take the time to understand it thoroughly. All of the research Katz and Rice provide is corelational data, though, so it weakens their stance a bit. None of their data identifies an exact cause with a definite effect. However, with such a huge subject (the internet) and such vague and intangible qualities being tested (identity, self, social capital) how can one expect them define a concrete cause-effect relationship. The information presented in non-numeric fashion is light-hearted, well-written, and interesting. It is easy to read and causes the reader to think about new and interesting aspects of your self, your technology and your world.
No matter how bogged down you may get throughout the rest of the book,though, Katz and Rice do their readers a great service by taking the last chapter to simply and thoroughly summarize all they have said throughout the rest of the book and pose new questions to ponder. They go through and restate their stance on the digital divide (access issues), civic and community involvement, and social interaction (the internet does not reduce your social capital). The authors then propose 8 claims and relate them to the three main themes( access, involvement, and interaction) and social capital. This section was the most interesting and most helpful because Katz and Rice presented both sides of the issues they were discussing by stating their stance and then pointing out the opposite point of view. Then they left their readers to ponder the facts and issues themselves.
If you are expecting an insightful, well-researched book with interesting claims and impressive research... this is that book; though not one I would reccomend to sit down and just read. It is definitely a book that you should work through and continue to read until you can fully grasp all that the authors are saying because their claims are revealing our world to us. They are helping us to better understand the future whether it be dealing with the internet, our society, our society's effect on the internet, but mostly the internet's effects on our society.
Rating:
Summary: Good information when you spend the time to grasp it
Review: Katz and Rice do an excellent job tackling a new and complex issue that most writers and researchers have not even thought to think about. Our world has progressed to the stage of development and acceptance of the Internet where it is becoming more than a luxury, more than a novelty, more than a tool... it is becoming a part of our everyday lives. Because of this widespread acceptance, there are and will continue to be many different social consequences. Katz and Rice distinguish these consequences into three very clear categories and provide in-depth research to expound on and explain every claim that they make regarding the digital divide, social capital and the expression of identity.
The authors take what at first seems to be the "safe" stance by adopting what they call a "syntopian" view of the internet. At first glance, I thought they were being weak and neutral in their claim but as I read on, Katz and Rice explained that "both the dystopian nightmares and utopian daydreams are too extreme... we find that its [the internet] use by Americans is as an extension and enhancement of their daily routines." So, this is not the weak stance, it is the logical one. No, the internet is not going to ruin our lives, nor will it make them perfect. Katz and Rice believe that it will make our lives easier but not completely change our daily routines.
The graphs and statistics in this book are extremely intense and you should be prepared to rack your brain to remember all you've ever learned about statistics or set aside plenty of time to take a long, slow, deep look into the data they present... it is excellent research and data if you can take the time to understand it thoroughly. All of the research Katz and Rice provide is corelational data, though, so it weakens their stance a bit. None of their data identifies an exact cause with a definite effect. However, with such a huge subject (the internet) and such vague and intangible qualities being tested (identity, self, social capital) how can one expect them define a concrete cause-effect relationship. The information presented in non-numeric fashion is light-hearted, well-written, and interesting. It is easy to read and causes the reader to think about new and interesting aspects of your self, your technology and your world.
No matter how bogged down you may get throughout the rest of the book,though, Katz and Rice do their readers a great service by taking the last chapter to simply and thoroughly summarize all they have said throughout the rest of the book and pose new questions to ponder. They go through and restate their stance on the digital divide (access issues), civic and community involvement, and social interaction (the internet does not reduce your social capital). The authors then propose 8 claims and relate them to the three main themes( access, involvement, and interaction) and social capital. This section was the most interesting and most helpful because Katz and Rice presented both sides of the issues they were discussing by stating their stance and then pointing out the opposite point of view. Then they left their readers to ponder the facts and issues themselves.
If you are expecting an insightful, well-researched book with interesting claims and impressive research... this is that book; though not one I would reccomend to sit down and just read. It is definitely a book that you should work through and continue to read until you can fully grasp all that the authors are saying because their claims are revealing our world to us. They are helping us to better understand the future whether it be dealing with the internet, our society, our society's effect on the internet, but mostly the internet's effects on our society.
Rating:
Summary: A Happy Medium
Review: Katz and Rice employed massive amounts of data from Pew Internet and the like to solidify their view concerning the changes on society enacted by the Internet. They evaluated the extremes, dystopian and utopian stances, through the three main domains of access to the Internet, group involvement over the Internet, and social interaction through Internet use. They often found that neither theory corresponded to the collected statistics. Thus, Katz and Rice present the Internet as a "syntopia" embodying both positive and negative characteristics; the net is not Rheingold's societal revolution nor is it a new societal evil promoting isolation and depression. It is merely a new mode of communication and a new technology which supplement our real life experiences. This book was well-researched and well-organized. The authors did a commendable job of conveying an unbiased opinion, though there is often a dearth of data for the negative points of view. In all, Katz and Rice have created and informative and important work concerning the influences the Internet will have on our society.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough
Review: Katz and Rice have contributed a great deal to social research with "Social Consequences of Internet Use." In 400 or so pages they examined many of the questions people have been asking since the advent of the Internet: Who has access? Does access make a difference in education or knowledge? Does the internet help or hinder social interaction?
Their conclusions are middle ground, in their words "sytopian", however they do lean more towards the utopian perspective. Different from Howard Rhinegold's "Smart Mobs," Katz and Rice do not seek to sift out revolutionary social patterns caused by the internet, rather they assert that the internet is another venue for social changes already occuring.
I do think that Katz and Rice should have done a little more futuristic projection that would include the issue of changing technology and wireless Internet's multifaceted appeal. "Social Consequences" takes the Internet as is and breaks down the details of access and social change, but in the world of ever-changing technology, there is a need for research with reliability in the future. Limiting research to grounded internet access is a bit out of date already. All in all, "Social Consequences of Internet Use" is a strong, research based book that presents a solid hypothesis and solid conclusions based on the research and analysis of Katz and Rice. It provides a good starting point for understanding the Internet and social change at its most basic level.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough
Review: Katz and Rice have contributed a great deal to social research with "Social Consequences of Internet Use." In 400 or so pages they examined many of the questions people have been asking since the advent of the Internet: Who has access? Does access make a difference in education or knowledge? Does the internet help or hinder social interaction?
Their conclusions are middle ground, in their words "sytopian", however they do lean more towards the utopian perspective. Different from Howard Rhinegold's "Smart Mobs," Katz and Rice do not seek to sift out revolutionary social patterns caused by the internet, rather they assert that the internet is another venue for social changes already occuring.
I do think that Katz and Rice should have done a little more futuristic projection that would include the issue of changing technology and wireless Internet's multifaceted appeal. "Social Consequences" takes the Internet as is and breaks down the details of access and social change, but in the world of ever-changing technology, there is a need for research with reliability in the future. Limiting research to grounded internet access is a bit out of date already. All in all, "Social Consequences of Internet Use" is a strong, research based book that presents a solid hypothesis and solid conclusions based on the research and analysis of Katz and Rice. It provides a good starting point for understanding the Internet and social change at its most basic level.
Rating:
Summary: review of social consequences...
Review: Katz and Rice present an arguement for their belief that the growth of the internet should be seen as a syntopian revolution, meaning that the consequences of the new technology are neither completely beneficial (utopian) or completely distructive (dystopian) but instead the technology is part of a larger sphere that helps and often enables more positive forms of communication and involvement. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the internet that could either hinder or help the socialization of the internet, such as digital awareness (the digital divide), the effects of increased internet use on the amount of time spent in community involvement, and the political benefits and detractors of a completely wireless world. I thought Katz and Rice presented a well developed thesis that counteracted the opposing views well when taken at face value. They analyzed the confounding variables in the research which adds validity to their position, and they used simple logic that appeals to even the guy who has never seen a computer. But I also detected a bit of bias in their research and their presentation of their arguement. This book must be read carefully and the information presented must not be adopted unless critically analyzed. Many of the statistics were based on correlational studies that can not show cause. The statistics are also somewhat out of date despite the fact that the last survey took place just three years ago. With such an innovative topic as technology current data is crucial to the support of an arguement. I would not recommend this book to a person who is not familiar with statistical studies because much of the argument is based around statistical surveys, and the information can be hard to swallow if you dont know what standard deviation means. i would also not recommend this book to anyone who is not already familiar with the internet and its social consequences because Katz and Rice do a good job of weaving their perspective into the chapters throughout the book and only the keen observer will recognize that there are some weak arguements and some counter supportive data in the book. Overall, I believe that this book adds strong support for the positive effects of the internet on our lives, but only when the book is read with a critical eye that always analyzes and reanalyzes Katz and Rice's method of persuasion.
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