A game of win-win or win-lose? revisiting the internet's influence on sociability and use of traditional media

This study examines the influence of internet adoption and internet usage on sociability and use of traditional media. With empirical data collected in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, it confirms that adoption and usage are two distinct processes, with different social impacts. It is found that, on average, internet users spend significantly less time on traditional media than nonusers, while both groups spend the same amount of time on social activities. Furthermore, users' sociability and use of traditional media are positively correlated with each other, while among nonusers there is no such correlation. When the spotlight is turned on internet users, a new measurement, called 'sophistication of internet usage', is employed to examine the impact of internet use on traditional media use and sociability. It is found in the study that internet use does not influence users' sociability and use of traditional media, regardless of the length of internet adoption history, which disconfirms the so-called 'novelty effect'. © The Author(s) 2010.