Is digital increasing our networks and decreasing isolation

The latest report from Pew sheds some new light on the problems of social isolation and the digital age.

The original report in 2006 showed that Americans were

more socially isolated, the size of their discussion networks has declined, and the diversity of those people with whom they discuss important matters has decreased.

and that new technologies, such as the internet and mobile phone, may play a role in advancing this trend.

Wind forward three years and the situation is rather different

Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported. People’s use of the mobile phone and the internet is associated with larger and more diverse discussion networks. And, when we examine people’s full personal network – their strong and weak ties – internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with more diverse social networks.

What is it like to be a modern journalist

What price does the modern journalist pay for living in this 24 hour digital age?

This journalist reveals the pace of modern life in a 24 hour period

I had a speedy day myself yesterday. It's one which might be worth recording if only to offer a cautionary tale to media studies students or the bright young things on City university's fashionable postgraduate journalism course: our trade is changing fast, the future is uncertain.

It started on the day of the Christopher Kelly leaks

the only new detail was the "60-minute train test": no second home allowance for anyone who can get home in an hour.
Both Sky and Radio 4 had rung before midnight. Would I come in next morning to comment?

before he arrived at his newsdesk

Some of my colleagues have been in for hours. No late, leisurely starts any more; in the age of the internet newspapers are close to being a 24/7 operation now: think speed, relentless speed.

Then

I normally watch from the press gallery in the Commons, as I have done for years. You can read the collective mood better, as you can't from the TV. But TV is how most people see it, so that's good too. Nowadays, I don't actually watch as much as I did because I have to cover the event on Twitter. Mostly I listen.

And on it goes-What price indeed

The digital generation in conflict with the Telecoms

Young people’s behaviour is no longer technology-driven, but reflects how this technology has been internalised and now drives a new participatory culture which impacts across all generations and demographics online.

That is the findings of a new report Serving the Digital Generation Innovation for a new breed of customers

Whereas the digital generation wants,Communication to be free,to be able to express identity and content and move seamlessly between media,this conflicts with Telecom operators whowant to connect calls and lines,to control as much as possible,to minimize capital investment and take a long time in developing new products and services

via Norman Lewis