That is a really significant fact. Absurdly though the study appears to be trying to trying to claim that:
Contrary to popular belief, technology is not leading to social isolation and Americans who use the Internet and mobile phones have larger and more diverse social networks, according to a new study.
"All the evidence points in one direction," said Keith Hampton, lead author of the report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project released Wednesday. "People's social worlds are enhanced by new communication technologies.
"It is a mistake to believe that Internet use and mobile phones plunge people into a spiral of isolation," said Hampton, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
The pretext for this claim being:
It found that on average, the size of people's discussion networks is 12 percent larger among mobile phone users, nine percent larger for those who share photos online, and nine percent bigger for those who use instant messaging.
The diversity of people's core networks tends to be 25 percent larger for mobile phone users, 15 percent larger for basic Internet users, and even larger for frequent Internet users, those who use instant messaging, and those who share digital photos online.
Which actually appears only to show that extroverted people are also using newer technologies to continue (to some degree) being extroverted while less extroverted people are (of course) using such technologies less so. This would appear to be basically a tautology. Extroverted people are extroverted. Not remotely proof that new technologies aren't leading to increasing isolation.
Meanwhile in the last 25 years 'discussion networks' have shrunk by one third.
All and all the article reminds me of Brawndo.
Seemingly an incredibly stupid article. But again with this one disconcerting sentence in it:
the study found that Americans' discussion networks have shrunk by about one-third since 1985 and have become less diverse because they contain fewer non-family members.
Which is surely doubleplusungood. Surely a huge change in our society. And yet barely even noticed. Instead we have a cheery article which reminds me of Ehrenreich's Bright-Sided. Where the 'negative' people are often just fired.
