THE INTERNET, SOCIAL CAPITAL AND LOCAL COMMUNITY Sara Ferlander Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Stirling Department of Psychology January 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Research Aims 2 1.3 Research Setting 4 1.3.1 The Local Community 4 -- Demographic Characteristics 6 1.3.2 The Local Net 7 -- The Aims of Skarpnet 7 -- Technology and Management 10 -- The Inauguration and Demise of Skarpnet 13 1.3.3 The Internet Café 15 -- The Aims of the Internet Café 16 -- Community Portraits 17 1.4 Research Design 18 1.5 Importance of Research 20 1.6 Structure of Thesis 22 PART I: THEORETICAL ISSUES CHAPTER 2: COMMUNITY 29 2.1 Introduction 30 2.2 Theoretical Background 30 2.2.1 Tönnies’ Theory of Community 31 -- Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft 31 -- Loss of Community 32 2.2.2 Durkheim’s Forms of Solidarity 33 -- Mechanical and Organic Solidarity 33 -- Anomie and Anomia 34 2.3 Definitions of Community 35 2.3.1 General Definitions of Community 35 2.3.2 Synthesized Definition of Community 36 -- Sense of Community 36 -- Social Networks 38 2.3.3 Communication and Community 39 2.4 Basic Forms of Community 41 2.4.1 Local Community 42 2.4.2 Community of Interest 43 2.5 The State of Community in Contemporary Society 44 2.5.1 Community Lost or Saved? 45 2.5.2 Social Networks and Community Liberated 46 2.6 Contemporary Approaches to Community 48 2.6.1 New Communitarianism and Community Revival 49 2.6.2 Community, Social Inclusion and Exclusion 51 2.6.3 Symbolic Interactionism and the Community Image 53 -- Stigmatised Communities 54 2.7 Summary 56 CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL CAPITAL 59 3.1 Introduction 60 3.2 Theoretical Background 60 3.2.1 Social Capital and Community 61 3.2.2 Economic and Political Dimension of Social Capital 64 3.2.3 Micro and Macro Levels of Social Capital 65 3.3 Definitions of Social Capital 66 3.3.1 General Definitions of Social Capital 67 -- Pierre Bourdieu 67 -- James Coleman 68 -- Robert Putnam 69 -- Francis Fukuyama 71 3.3.2 Synthesized Definition of Social Capital 72 -- Social Networks and Social Support 73 -- Trust 75 3.4 Different Forms of Social Networks 76 3.4.1 Horizontal and Vertical Networks 76 3.4.2 Formal and Informal Networks 77 3.4.3 Strong and Weak Ties 78 3.4.4 Bonding and Bridging Networks 79 -- Local and Non-Local Networks 81 3.5 The Extent of Social Capital 82 3.5.1 Distribution of Social Capital 82 3.5.2 Decline in Social Capital 84 3.6 Consequences and Sources of Social Capital 85 3.6.1 Positive Consequences for the Local Community 86 3.6.2 Negative Consequences for the Local Community 87 -- Localism and Pressures of Conformity 88 -- Harmful Outcomes 89 3.6.3 The Creation of Social Capital 90 3.7 Summary 92 CHAPTER 4: THE INTERNET, SOCIAL CAPITAL & LOCAL COMMUNITY 95 4.1 Introduction 96 4.2 Theoretical Background 96 4.2.1 The Information Society 97 4.2.2 The Internet 98 4.3 Online Community 100 4.3.1 Basic Forms of Online Community 101 -- Online Community of Interest: The Virtual Community 101 -- Local Online Community: The Local Net 102 4.3.2 The State of Community in Information Society 105 -- Community Lost or Saved? 105 -- Social Networks and Community Liberated 108 4.4 Digital and Social Inclusion 110 4.4.1 The Digital Divide 110 4.4.2 The Internet, Local Nets and Digital Inclusion 112 4.4.3 Computer Use and Social Inclusion 114 -- Social and Asocial Activities 115 -- Local and Global Activities 117 4.5 The Internet and Social Capital 119 4.5.1 Social Networks, Social Support and Trust Online 119 -- Social Networks Online 119 -- Social Support Online 122 -- Trust Online 124 4.5.2 Different Forms of Online Networks 127 -- Horizontal and Vertical Networks Online 127 -- Informal and Formal Networks Online 128 -- Weak and Strong Ties Online 130 -- Bonding and Bridging Networks Online 132 4.6 Future Research 135 4.7 Summary 137 PART II: METHODOLOGICIAL ISSUES CHAPTER 5: METHODOLODGY 141 5.1 Introduction 142 5.2 Research Objectives 142 5.3 Research Questions 144 5.3.1 Digital and Social Inclusion 144 5.3.2 Social Capital and Local Community 145 5.4 Methodological Approaches 146 5.4.1 Case Study 146 5.4.2 Triangulation 146 5.5 Methods of Data Collection 147 5.5.1 Documentary Research 147 5.2.2 Participant Observation 147 5.5.3 In-depth Interviews 149 5.5.4 Questionannaires 151 -- Questionnaire Design 151 -- Samples 153 -- Questions 153 -- Operationalisation of Social Capital 154 5.5.5 Focus Groups 159 5.6 Language Issues 160 5.7 Analysis of Data 161 5.8 Methodological Limitations 163 PART III: ANALYSIS OF RESULTS CHAPTER 6: THE LOCAL NET & DIGITAL INCLUSION 167 6.1 Introduction 168 6.2 Residents Connected to the Local Net 169 6.2.1 Demographic Factors 169 6.2.2 Computer Experience 171 6.2.3 Usage Patterns of the Local Net 173 6.2.4 Digital Inclusion of Excluded Residents 174 6.3 Computer and Local Net Usage 176 6.3.1 General Computer Activities 177 -- Computer Activities and Demographic Factors 179 6.3.2 Services on the Local Net 181 -- Desired Local Net Services 181 -- Local Net Services Actually Used 183 6.4 Perceptions of the Local Net 188 6.4.1 Expectations of the Local Net 188 6.4.2 Attitudes towards the Local Net 193 -- Reasons for the Positive Attitudes 194 -- Problems with the Local Net 197 6.5 Summary and Conclusion 200 CHAPTER SEVEN: SOCIAL CAPITAL & COMMUNITY IN 1999 203 7.1 Introduction 204 7.2 Participation in Social Networks 205 7.2.1 Formal Participation 205 7.2.2 Informal Participation 211 7.3 Extent of Social Support 213 7.3.1 Informal Support 214 7.3.2 Formal Support: Local Information 215 7.4 Level of Trust 216 7.5 Sense of Community 219 7.5.1 Sense of Solidarity 219 7.5.2 Community Attachment 226 -- Reasons for the Weak Sense of Community 229 7.6 Summary and Conclusion 232 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE IT-CAFÉ & DIGITAL INCLUSION 235 8.1 Introduction 236 8.2 Visitors to the Internet Café 237 8.2.1 Demographic Factors 237 8.2.2 Computer Experience 240 8.2.3 Visitor Patterns at the IT-Café 241 -- Visitor Patterns and Demographic Factors 244 8.3 Usage of the Internet Café 248 8.3.1 Reasons for IT-Café Visits 248 -- Reasons for Visits and Demographic Factors 254 8.3.2 Computer Activities 255 -- Computer Activities and Demographic Factors 251 8.4 Perceptions of the Internet Café 261 8.4.1 Expectations of the IT-Café 261 8.4.2 Experiences of the IT-Café 262 8.4.3 Attitudes towards the IT-Café 263 -- Reasons for Positive Attitudes 265 8.5 Community Portraits 269 8.5.1 Online Collaboration 269 8.5.2 The Learning Environment 274 8.5.3 Community Portraits and Social Capital 276 8.6 Summary and Conclusion 279 CHAPTER NINE: THE INTERNET CAFÉ, SOCIAL CAPITAL & COMMUNITY IN 2000-2002 283 9.1 Introduction 284 9.2 Participation in Social Networks 285 9.2.1 The IT-Café as a Physical Meeting Place 289 9.2.2 The Internet as an Online Meeting Place 293 9.3 Extent of Social Support 298 9.3.1 Offline Support 298 9.3.2 Online Support 300 9.4 Level of Trust 304 9.4.1 Offline Trust 305 9.4.2 Online Trust 307 9.5 Sense of Local Community 311 9.5.1 Sense of Solidarity 312 9.5.2 Community Attachment 317 -- Reasons for Strong Sense of Community 318 9.6 Summary and Conclusion 322 PART IV: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION CHAPTER TEN: THE INTERNET, SOCIAL CAPITAL & LOCAL COMMUNITY 327 10.1 Summary of Results 328 10.1.1 Social Capital and Local Community in 1999 328 10.1.2 The Local Net and the Internet Café 329 10.2 Digital and Social Inclusion 331 10.2.1 The Local Net and Digital Inclusion 332 10.2.2 The Internet Café and Digital Inclusion 336 10.2.3 The Local Net versus the Internet Café 338 10.3 Social Impacts of the Internet Café 341 10.3.1 The Internet Café as a Physical Meeting Place 341 10.3.2 Trust and Sense of Local Community 342 10.4 The Internet and Social Capital 344 10.4.1 Online Communication 344 10.4.2 Online Information 347 10.5 The Research Question Revisited 348 10.6 Future Directions for Research 350 REFERENCES 353 APPENDICES 379 a) Description of the Study in Easterhouse, b-c) Questions and Frequencies for the Local Net and the Internet Café Studies, d) List of Publications. ABSTRACT This dissertation is concerned with the extent to which the use of information and communication technology can (re-)create social capital and local community in an urban environment. Will the new technologies lead to new forms of social inclusion or to the creation of a digital divide? How have social networks, social support, trust and sense of community been affected by the rapid development of the Internet? In the literature there is disagreement between writers who see the technology as a new basis for social inclusion, social capital and community (e.g. Wellman, 1997; Rheingold, 2000; Lin, 2001) and others who see it as a threat, leading to new forms of exclusion and a decline in face-to-face contacts (e.g.