Web Insight: do you have friends who would not be in your life without the internet?

Beyond the friends and family you see regularly, how many people whom you communicate with online would no longer be a part of your life without the internet?

The internet has become so pervasive it is a key component of most people’s social lives.

One way to look at how the internet influences people’s social networks is to imagine how many people would no longer be part of individuals’ lives without the technology. With this in mind, we asked internet users, beyond the friends and family they see regularly, how many people whom they communicate with online would no longer be a part of their lives without the internet?

Only 18% of respondents said that none of the people whom they communicate with online would no longer be a part of their lives without the internet.

Thirty percent of users said a few.

Twenty-five percent responded that some of the people with whom they communicate online would no longer be part of their lives.

Twenty-seven percent admitted that many people with whom they communicate online would no longer be a part of their lives without the internet.

Many issues are not addressed by this data, for example, the quality of these relationships that would be so lost. Nevertheless, the data suggest that the internet has truly become an essential tool for connecting with other human beings.

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September 9, 2019