The changing presence of the Internet from a medium for elites to one in common use in our everyday lives raises important questions about its impact on access to resources, social interaction, and commitment to local community. This book brings together studies that cover the impact of “the Internet” in everyday life in the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, India, Japan and globally. These studies show the Internet as a complex landscape of applications, purposes and users. This introduction begins by summarizing results from studies in this book and other recent research to provide an overview of the Internet population and its activities – statistics that help.
