- What do you use the Internet for and approximately how much time per week on each activity (surfing, e-mail, gaming, chat, research)?
A) One hour for research,15 hours for games, 4 hours trading stocks
- Who do you keep in touch with through the Internet (family, friends, strangers, co-workers etc)? And are they local or distant?
A) Friends, and co- workers
- Do you participate in chat groups or news groups? If so, are these special interest groups ie: pro-legalization of marijuana or general chat rooms?
A) no
- Have you ever met anyone on line? If so, have you ever met them in person or intend to?
A) Have made friends on line and will be meeting them in near future
- Have you met people on line who have similar interests/hobbies? If so, how (did you search for them)?
A) Met a few people. Met them by repeatedly meeting at same games.
- Overall, do you believe that the Internet makes/allows you to be more social and facilitates interaction with others, or do you feel more isolated because of the limits of a computer screen?
A) Talking with friends and family is easier but personal social interaction is at risk.
- Do you find that the time you spent on the Net takes away from face-to-face interaction with others and does this make you feel lonelier?
A) Face to face interaction is diminished but with effort, voice and visual interactions is available online. Not quite the same quality as in person but still better than only rare visits.
- Do you feel that communication via Internet makes you feel more accepted because it prevents discrimination associated with visual interaction (ie: racism, sexism)?
A) People are more vocal about opinions on the net and just simply pick on any particular difference that they can perceive even without visual recognition.
- Are you selective of who you interact with on the Net in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation, economic status, age, etc?
A) Not concerned at all with these characteristics but generally people that are similar to me do and meet at the same places on net.
- How would your life be without the Internet? What would you spend your time doing instead?
A) I would spend more time with friends in person.
- Do you seek to diversify your perspectives and beliefs on line (via chat or research) or do you look to further develop those you have already formed?
A) My beliefs and perspectives are already secure and am not personally looking for others opinions.
- Do you agree that the anonymity of the "virtual" world encourages ‘drive-by’ relationships or have you been able to form more meaningful connections with strangers on the net?
A) Constant effort has to be made to keep relationships strong. The only difference is that there are a lot more transient people as there are more people in communication range.
- Finally, do you believe that the Internet widens your experience of community (by helping you to connect to others with different beliefs or backgrounds), or does it deepen your experience (by reinforcing and strengthening existing social networks), or perhaps both? Explain.