Web-use and Net-nerds: a neo-functionalist analysis of the impact of information technology in the home

Abstract

This paper investigates the question of the impact of use of various facilities of the Worldwide Web on patterns of sociability. Its sets out a neo-functionalist model of socio-technical innovation which is designed to explore prospectively the impact of innovations in areas such as Information and Communications Technology, on the full range of sociable and non-sociable activities. And it uses evidence from a unique dataset (a nationally representative time diary panel study, collected in the UK for the period 1999-2001) to explore this model.