Kraut et al’s article ‘‘ Internet Paradox ’’ is published to show people the
review of the past literature of Internet usage and to show the study done to
determine if Internet reduces social involvement and psychological well–being or
not. The article introduces how Internet has developed until 1998 and what
effects it have caused related to this development. According to Kraut et al ,
other researchers are trying to find whether the Internet causes improvs or
harm to sociality and psychology. Internet usage can have different aims that
can contain different effects occur. For example you can do some of your
responsibilities online and it may seem easier than going out and doing manually
but for Kraut et al it reduces social involvement and causes indolance because
you are just sitting inactively . Overally Kraut et al’study shows that with the
usage of internet , people reduces their own social involvement and psychological
well–being according to 1998 but today with the changed technology and life
styles Internet might be less harmfull to sociality and psychology .
Internet is a virtual area that takes the person inside it’s virtual space and
cuts the involvement of that person with social environment along the usage time
. Kraut et al tells , if the reduction that watching tv causes on sociality and
psychology is being accepted by the public so internet’s must be accepted too
because both of them pushes people to use time falsely. Kraut et al wanted to
support this to show the validity of this finding. Television seemed familiar with
Internet in basic so Kraut et al looked early researches and found out that
dealing with Internet will be much more expensive and needed a long time to
reach to end. They decided doing one longtitudinal study. They have chosen 93
families from 8 different neighborhoods and took all 256 member’s
psychological condition in memory. Some of the participants left because of
reasons like attending college or moving around. In Kraut et al’s analysis internet
usage is closely associated with household income , age , gender , race and
loneliness but household income seems to effect most. Kraut et al searched also
how emails and world wide web effected social involvement. In addition they
used four measures to discuss social involvement.They wanted a list of how much
each member talks with households from each participant,than how much from
local and distant networks. According toKraut et al Social involvement effects
psychological well-being too. An example for this effect is family communication.
Person starts not to communicate with his or her real relatives and choose
virtual relatives except for real ones even if he or she met new . This also harms
real relationships . After a while this person may have a wonderful friendship
online but this may have cause an antipathic environment among his or her close
relatives. Although he or she started to have a good virtual environment , real
environment may have start to leave that person lonely . In the other
perspective a part of the Internet users have already started trying to have
this virtual environment because of loneliness . Kraut et al’s studies supports
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that lonely people have tendency on using the Internet . Loneliness and antipathy
with relatives will probably cause stress in psychology . It has a short step
remained through depression level . Loneliness , stress , depression means that
person is phsychologically not well . As Kraut et al mentioned , if the person
contains these feelings that means his or her psychological health is damaged .
So the Internet , thing that is in the source of the topic , reduces social
engagement and psychological well-being.According to the study of Kraut et al’s
these people that makes the number increase , shows priority to internet among
their responses especially when they are doing their responsibilities .
Written in 1998, Kraut et al’s article does not qualify 2008’s specialities
because it is based on 1998’s conditions . According to today’s conditions validity
of Kraut et al’s hypothesis might be rejected because of the time passed
through . Think of man that does not know how to use a computer very much .
His friend shows how to do some bank works and some shopping sites . This helps
that man to do some of the things that he must have done by going to a bank or
a shopping center. Now that man’s life become easier and in another side man
isnt addicted to the internet and being involved in social life like he used to be .
But on the other hand if the man goes to the bank or a shop rather than sitting
in front of a computer , he will socially communicate with at least the banker or
cashier and also he will be inside a social environment that he is actively involving
According to both conditions we ‘might’ appear to say that in the man’s life there
is no reduction in social involvement or psychological well–being . Living conditions
, computers and internet has changed lot in past ten years . Also people are
being awared or tried to be of the effects of addiction today . By time there
started to be more reduction in sociality and psychology than Kraut et al
mentioned for some people because of the growing technology . But this
reduction is valid for only that ‘some people’.The other section of people that
are not addicted still exists so the validity of Kraut et al’s findings might be
rejected accoring to that section .
According to 1990s , with the development of the Internet people started
having a curiosity that than changed into a desire , and than into a dependence
that reduces their social environment and harms their psychology . The article
‘‘ Internet Paradox ’’ is overally talks about this reduction . Kraut et al supports
this reduction with researches according to his time . Over time the level of the
reduction changed but still exists . As Kraut et al said the Internet still
reduces social involvement & psychological well–being but just for the addicted
region .
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