Editing Internet relationship (section)

=== Weakening of social ties ===
In many cases the introduction of the Internet as a social instigator may cause a repercussion leading to a weakening of social ties. In a study conducted in 1998, Robert Kraut et al. discovered that Internet users were becoming less socially involved. They linked this to an increase in [[loneliness]] and [[Depression (mood)|depression]] in relation to use of the Internet.<ref name="Kraut, R. E., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukhopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W.2">{{cite journal|last=Kraut|first=R|date=September 1998|title=Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?|journal=The American Psychologist|volume=53|issue=9|pages=1017–31|doi=10.1037/0003-066X.53.9.1017|pmid=9841579|author2=Patterson, M|author3=Lundmark, V|author4=Kiesler, S|author5=Mukopadhyay, T|author6=Scherlis, W|url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kiesler/publications/1998pdfs/1998Kraut-InternetParadox.pdf|citeseerx=10.1.1.352.2919|s2cid=513632}}</ref> Though these findings may have been sound, in a later study, Kraut et al.<ref name="kraut022">{{cite journal|last=Kraut|first=Robert|date=1 January 2002|title=Internet Paradox Revisited|journal=Journal of Social Issues|volume=58|issue=1|pages=49–74|doi=10.1111/1540-4560.00248|author2=Kiesler, Sara|author3=Boneva, Bonka|author4=Cummings, Jonathon|author5=Helgeson, Vicki|author6=Crawford, Anne|s2cid=144328559 |url=http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1100&context=hcii}}</ref> revisited his original study with the idea of expanding his current initial sample and correlating it with new subsequently collected [[longitudinal data]]. This synthesis produced a different outcome than the one that Kraut had originally presented.<ref name="kraut022" /> The studies like Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity report (2000) indicate that people who are constantly practicing virtual sexual stimulation losing the social stigma and approval that they experience problems <ref>{{cite news|last=Brody|first=Jane|date=16 May 2000|title=Cybersex Gives Birth to a Psychological Disorder| newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/health/051600hth-behavior-cybersex.html}}</ref>

In this newer paper, Kraut stated that there were fewer negative affects than he had originally found, and in some cases the negative effect had vanished. In the second study he saw that small positive effects began to appear in [[social involvement]] and psychological well-being. Assessing the effect of the Internet over a period of time, he saw people's use of the Internet increase in sophistication.<ref name="kraut022" />

During the Kraut et al. study, the researchers asked reclusive people if they use the Internet to counteract the loss of social skills that are needed in face-to-face encounters.<ref name="kraut022" /> They also asked people with strong [[social skills]] whether they use the Internet to amplify their [[Aptitude|abilities]] to [[Social network|network]] amongst people. The study discovered that these people who already possessed strong social skills were the ones who received the most beneficial outcome to using the Internet. The concluding [[analysis]] was, that rather than helping to decrease the difference between those who already had social skills compared with those lacking in social skills, internet use had actually exacerbated the differences in the skill level needed for social interaction.<ref name="kraut022" />