The use of new technologies like Internet or mobile phones does not increase the degree of social isolation of people as was believed for years, if not that, in contrast, reduces and increases the diversity of contacts, according to a study Pew Research Center.
The U.S. organization released the results of a survey which shows that Americans who use new technologies "have larger social networks and more varied" than the rest.
This is the first time driving a Pew national survey to assess the impact of mobile phone use and internet when interacting with family and friends.
"All the data lead to the same conclusion: the social worlds of people are enriched by the new communication technologies. It's a mistake to believe that the use of internet and mobile phones add to people in a spiral of isolation" said the head of the study, Keith Hampton, in a statement.
This professor at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania explained that the average size of discussion networks of Americans (the people who commented important issues) is 12% higher among mobile users between the average , 9% higher among those who share photos online and another 9% among those who use chat rooms.
Moreover, the diversity of the basic network of people (his closest confidants) is 25% higher among mobile phone users and 15% among Internet users.
The results of the survey, conducted among more than two thousand Americans by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and has a margin of error of 2.5% even show that it is not true that Americans live increasingly isolated, such and as has been traditionally defended.
"The degree of isolation of the Americans virtually unchanged since 1985," the study center, which he cites the fact that only 6% of the adult population claims not to have anyone to discuss major issues .
Hampton said about "there is a tendency to blame new technology first when social changes occur, while the study" shows the opposite. "
"It turns out that those who use the Internet and mobile phones have definite social advantages. People use technology to stay connected and share information in ways that the stay socially active and connected with other communities," he argued.
As to the effect that new technologies have on local communities, the study says that "mobile users who frequently connect to the Internet from work and bloggers are most likely to join a voluntary association."
"However, we found that the use of virtual social networks partly replaced with the neighborhood involvement," adds the study center, which, by contrast, ensures that users of services like Facebook often meet people with more varied, and trajectories diverse environments.
Neither seems true that the internet connection to reduce the influx of Internet users in public places since, "the network access has become commonplace in areas such as parks, cafes and restaurants."
Thus, Americans surveyed who were in a library in the last month, 38% are connected to the Internet when they were there and 18% did the same when I was in a café.
Despite the popularization of new technologies, the most common connection of Americans with family and close friends is still in person, so that in a normal year they watched an average of 210 days, while they spoke by phone with 195 days and 125 days landline.
In addition, they exchanged text messages with them in 125 days a year, I sent emails 72 days, 39 days and we chatted sent letters or postcards only 8 days.
Action for Google allows greater access to personal data
Google unveiled on Thursday a new privacy control that supports the user to see what kind of personal information is being collected about him.
The command "Dashboard" gathers the data that enter comnputadoras from Google every time a user enters one of the services of the company.
These include summaries of email, search requests and usage habits of YouTube, the Google Video site. Before, users had to visit several sites to get all that information.
The command does not include the activity recorded when the user is not connected to a Google service.
Dashboard is the latest step by Google Inc. to give its users more control over their personal information and please those who ensure privacy.
The command "Dashboard" gathers the data that enter comnputadoras from Google every time a user enters one of the services of the company.
These include summaries of email, search requests and usage habits of YouTube, the Google Video site. Before, users had to visit several sites to get all that information.
The command does not include the activity recorded when the user is not connected to a Google service.
Dashboard is the latest step by Google Inc. to give its users more control over their personal information and please those who ensure privacy.
Electronic books are enticing consumers this Christmas
EBooks, netbooks, smartphones and apparatus for Twitter: Christmas is approaching and the latest technology industry news for its mass appeal to consumers after two disastrous campaigns.
»View photos of new market eReaders photos
There is certainly no easy task. According to the latest survey by the Consumer Reports organization, 65 percent of Americans plan to spend less this year on gifts, travel and entertainment.
However, the study also shows that the electronics will go much better than other options and products like laptops, netbooks, mobile, gaming and GPS systems at least maintained its sales level.
This Christmas, Santa's sacks or Los Reyes Magos possibly be well stocked with electronic books, an increasingly popular article and whose price has dropped considerably in the last year.
The Amazon Kindle, which went on sale internationally on October 19, can now be found in U.S. from $ 259 after the last drop in price to compete with the Nook bookstore chain Barnes & Noble.
This latest newcomer to the field of e-books is currently available only in the U.S. and, unlike the Kindle, lets you download books in different formats and has a color screen.
However, those who prefer to wait for the January sales may come out ahead.
The Californian chipmaker Marvell announced Monday an alliance with the company E Ink, which specializes in electronic ink systems, to launch a new technology to hit the market in early 2010 and will reduce the price of electronic books up to $ 150 .
Other favorites for this holiday season will again netbooks, low-cost laptops and simple services and, of course, the latest models of smart phones like the Motorola Droid.
Droid has been named by U.S. media as the most serious competitor to the iPhone so far, but most European and Latin-American consumers will have to wait, because the phone will currently only sold in the U.S., Germany, Italy and Argentina.
The Droid works with the Android software platform from Google and is expected to generate a new wave of applications developed by independent programmers such as those that have turned the iPhone into a handheld.
The phone also comes with other interesting features like touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and GPS the new browser from Google, the last competitor to companies like TomTom, moreover, is free.
But those who think the latest generation of smart phones are too complicated and do too much this week, as stated Martin Cooper, inventor, precisely, the mobile telephone can choose much simpler electronics.
As TwitterPeek, a device launched this week and serves solely to Twitter.
The TwitterPeek, manufactured by the firm Peek and looking BlackBerry, allows users to send and read messages from Twitter, the popular microblogging service that is already a mass phenomenon in the U.S..
Priced at $ 99, the device comes with two contract options: $ 7.95 per month or one payment of $ 199 which ensures access to the lifetime of the device.
TwitterPeek takes the pull of Twitter and its more than 23.5 million monthly visitors, a growth of 1,000% in the last twelve months. The company is now trying to grow in non-English speaking countries and its interface is starting this week, also available in Spanish.
»View photos of new market eReaders photos
There is certainly no easy task. According to the latest survey by the Consumer Reports organization, 65 percent of Americans plan to spend less this year on gifts, travel and entertainment.
However, the study also shows that the electronics will go much better than other options and products like laptops, netbooks, mobile, gaming and GPS systems at least maintained its sales level.
This Christmas, Santa's sacks or Los Reyes Magos possibly be well stocked with electronic books, an increasingly popular article and whose price has dropped considerably in the last year.
The Amazon Kindle, which went on sale internationally on October 19, can now be found in U.S. from $ 259 after the last drop in price to compete with the Nook bookstore chain Barnes & Noble.
This latest newcomer to the field of e-books is currently available only in the U.S. and, unlike the Kindle, lets you download books in different formats and has a color screen.
However, those who prefer to wait for the January sales may come out ahead.
The Californian chipmaker Marvell announced Monday an alliance with the company E Ink, which specializes in electronic ink systems, to launch a new technology to hit the market in early 2010 and will reduce the price of electronic books up to $ 150 .
Other favorites for this holiday season will again netbooks, low-cost laptops and simple services and, of course, the latest models of smart phones like the Motorola Droid.
Droid has been named by U.S. media as the most serious competitor to the iPhone so far, but most European and Latin-American consumers will have to wait, because the phone will currently only sold in the U.S., Germany, Italy and Argentina.
The Droid works with the Android software platform from Google and is expected to generate a new wave of applications developed by independent programmers such as those that have turned the iPhone into a handheld.
The phone also comes with other interesting features like touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera and GPS the new browser from Google, the last competitor to companies like TomTom, moreover, is free.
But those who think the latest generation of smart phones are too complicated and do too much this week, as stated Martin Cooper, inventor, precisely, the mobile telephone can choose much simpler electronics.
As TwitterPeek, a device launched this week and serves solely to Twitter.
The TwitterPeek, manufactured by the firm Peek and looking BlackBerry, allows users to send and read messages from Twitter, the popular microblogging service that is already a mass phenomenon in the U.S..
Priced at $ 99, the device comes with two contract options: $ 7.95 per month or one payment of $ 199 which ensures access to the lifetime of the device.
TwitterPeek takes the pull of Twitter and its more than 23.5 million monthly visitors, a growth of 1,000% in the last twelve months. The company is now trying to grow in non-English speaking countries and its interface is starting this week, also available in Spanish.
Father of mobile phone calls for simpler devices
The mobile phone inventor Martin Cooper, said Wednesday that the telephones became much more complicated, with a wide range of services such as camera and music from the first cell that was made, more than three decades.
"When you create a universal device that does everything for everyone does not do anything right," said Cooper, who was a researcher at Motorola, in an international conference on data privacy in Madrid.
"I think our future is a series of specialized devices that focus on one thing that will improve our lives," said Cooper, 80.
The American was the chief engineer for Motorola who developed the mobile phone. He made the first call with a wireless device from a Manhattan street on 3 April 1973.
"The first model weighed a kilo cell phone and could only talk 20 minutes before the battery runs out," he said.
"What we did with this phone was to create a revolution. Before the cell exists, we called a place, now call a person".
From the first call by the popularity of cellular phones has steadily increased, with more than 4,000 million people that have one, according to Cooper, compared with 300,000 in 1984.
"When you create a universal device that does everything for everyone does not do anything right," said Cooper, who was a researcher at Motorola, in an international conference on data privacy in Madrid.
"I think our future is a series of specialized devices that focus on one thing that will improve our lives," said Cooper, 80.
The American was the chief engineer for Motorola who developed the mobile phone. He made the first call with a wireless device from a Manhattan street on 3 April 1973.
"The first model weighed a kilo cell phone and could only talk 20 minutes before the battery runs out," he said.
"What we did with this phone was to create a revolution. Before the cell exists, we called a place, now call a person".
From the first call by the popularity of cellular phones has steadily increased, with more than 4,000 million people that have one, according to Cooper, compared with 300,000 in 1984.
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