Personal Network Maintenance, Face-to-Face Interaction, and Distance

Abstract

Taking as a departing point the general agreement in the literature about the complementary role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in social activity travel, the paper focuses on the interplay between different media (face to face, telephone, Internet based) in personal network maintenance, with a special focus on the relevance of distance and socioeconomics. Through an explicit social-structure approach, social networks were conceived of as personal communication systems that people would use to stay socially connected. Using data gathered recently in Concepción, Chile, the study focused on two neighborhoods distinctive because of their income levels. The study examined the interplay between ICT availability and use, the frequency of face-to-face interaction, and the role of distance. Quantitative methods were used to study the specific contexts in which ICT complements face-to-face interaction by identifying the role of distance and key characteristics of egos and alters and the personal networks in which they are embedded. [The author defines “alter” as “social contact.” —Ed.] The results suggest that, after controlling for demographics, telephone and Internet have specialized functions, depending on the ego–alter relationship in aspects such as roles, distance, length of the relationship, and age and gender homophily. Therefore, the complementary effect of ICT in social activities is mediated by the social context in which these interactions occur and highlights the relevance of the particularities of the spatial, socioeconomic, and social structure in which social relations are embedded.