The Internet Solution The Effectiveness and Future of Internet Based Interventions
Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Ryan, Kimberly
Keywords
Internet, Community, World Wide Web
Area of Concentration
Psychology
Abstract
Almost everyone experiences loneliness at some point and for some it can cause serious problems. Loneliness is common in the college population, and can lead to decreased well-being and attrition. Many situational factors that cause loneliness are due to a lack of access to timely and appropriate information about one's social network. The World Wide Web has been shown to be an effective tool for communicating large amounts of information quickly to many people. As such, there is a great potential for its use by college students to aid in developing a sense of community, and decreasing loneliness. The focus of this project was to explore the ways in which people can use the Internet to prevent loneliness. The objectives of this repeated measures design were: To determine the factors of loneliness that may be alleviated using the Internet; to measure the effectiveness of an Internet resource, StudentWeb, in reducing loneliness; and to determine what role, if any, the Internet might play in the enhancement of the student community. The results of pre and post surveys showed that access to resources, use of campus resources, and use of online resources were negatively related to loneliness. While the study was unable to show any effect of StudentWeb on loneliness and aspects of campus involvement, the results of this study do suggest that Internet resources may have a future role in addressing loneliness in college populations.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Ian S., "The Internet Solution The Effectiveness and Future of Internet Based Interventions" (2004). Theses & ETDs. 3465.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3465
Rights
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