University of Siegen, 2010
Study commissioned by the European Commission, DG Information Society & Media,
The effect of ICT on networking and social capital, it is obvious that the networking capabilities of the Internet and ICTs enable collective endeavours which would have been unimaginable before. New ICT-based practices were often expected to replace established forms of practice, thereby revolutionizing the way people live, work, consume information and learn. In reality, however, practices based on ICT have often turned out to have a complementary effect, enhancing and subtly changing societal patterns and trends.
Internet has greatly improved people’s access to information which is of relevance and/or interest to them, which implies that they – if endowed with the necessary skills – have benefited from greater transparency, e.g. in the domains of consumption, education, creation and community, and family.
The Internet and, maybe even more important in the near future, mobile telephony, have opened up a range of new possibilities for organizations which seek data on customers, citizens, potential friends and competitors. This clearly represents a rationalization opportunity in the field of control, as the costs of screening individual behaviour have decreased dramatically thanks to more and more human activity taking place online and / or with the help of a mobile computing device.
