Hi everyone. I am currently doing a dissertation on the Internet and, to put it as simply as possible, I will be addressing the issue of whether or not the Internet improves our sociability or whether it is alienating us from each other. I am doing this as part of my third year Sociology project and I would really appreciate it if some of you could answer my questionnaire, it won't take you 5 minutes, it is very straightforward, and by answering it you will help me to determine the kind of impact the Internet has had on our social capital, community, and our bonds with each other.

The data will be kept fully confidential I can assure you. If you interested, then please reply to this question by sending me a PM (this is for confidentiality reasons, so no other forum user can see your answers), or simply e-mail me at [email protected]. None of the questions are sensitive though. Participation is entirely volutnary, you are free to omit any questions you do not want to or can't answer. The data will be securely stored and will be destroyed as soon as I have finished with it.

Finally, if nayone is interested in the results of my survey, then please let me know and I'll send you a PM detailing my results and comments.

Once again, this is an interesting issue so I would encourage everyone to answer the questionnaire. If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please PM me or e-mail. This questionnaire has been approved by the ethics committee of the Sociology department at the University of Reading, Great Britain, so it is 100% legitimate and authorised.

Do you give your consent to answer the questionnaire?

Yes
No

1. Are you male or female?

2. Which ethnic group do you belong to?

White European
White other
Black African Caribbean
Black African
Indian
Pakistani
Chinese
Asian other
Mixed ethnicity

3. Which of these social classes do you think you belong to?

Manual working class
Semi-skilled working class
Skilled working class
Lower-middle class/clerical workers
Intermediate middle class (teachers, lower-grade professionals)
Upper middle class (doctors, highly qualified professionals)
Upper class (property owners/employers).

4. How old are you?


5. How much time do you spend on the Internet each week (on average)?

0-5 hours
6-11 hours
12-17 hours
18-23 hours
24+ hours

6. How much leisure time do you spend with friends and family in person each week (on average)?

0-5 hours
6-11 hours
12-17 hours
18-23 hours
24-30 hours
30+ hours

7. Which type of websites do you tend to visit whilst online? Select as many that apply.

Message boards/forums
Online shopping
News websites
Political websites
Other (please specify)

8. When you’re online, do you often communicate with people from different backgrounds (i.e. people of a different nationality, ethnic group, social class, etc.)?

Yes
No

9. How would you describe your online relationships?



10. Do you feel particularly close to your Internet contacts (please explain why or why not)?



11. Have you ever met up with, and befriended, someone you communicated with over the Internet? (select one of the responses)

Yes
No

12. Have you ever been concerned about online flaming (flaming refers to heated arguments and/or abuse in online message boards/chat rooms/forums)?

13. Would you say flaming was one of the major problems of communicating online?

Yes
No

14. Would you say you belong to an online community, or do you think it’s impossible for a group of people who communicate over the Internet to form a community?


15. Do you use Computer Mediated Communications (CMC’s) such as e-mail, instant messaging, and message forums to communicate with your personal, close relationships such as family and friends?

Yes
No

16. Do you feel as close to your family and friends when you are communicated via the Internet/e-mail as you would do in person?

Yes
No

17. How many clubs/societies do you belong to?

1-3
4-6
7-9
10+

18. Have you ever joined an online protest movement?

Yes
No

19. Have you ever joined any groups which use networking via the Internet to put people in touch with each other (for example, Facebook.com)?

Yes
No

20. Which groups are these? (specify the name(s) of the group(s))


21. On the whole, would you say using the Internet improves your relationships with other people, or it has no effect on people’s relationships, or does it make you more isolated/alienated from other humans? (select one response)

Improves relationships
Has no effect on relationships
Worsens relationships/makes me more isolated

22. Do you trust people you speak to online?

Yes
No

23. Have you come across someone online who has helped you out in some way (i.e. by giving you advice)?

Yes
No

Thank you very much for completing my questionnaire. I appreciate it.