I'm editing a book with contributions from a number of Airers. The collection will have one piece by John Robinson, Alan Neustadtl, and Meyer Kestnbaum at Maryland called "Technology & Tolerance: Public Opinion Differences Among Internet Users and Non-Users" that takes a step closer to making a causal connection between experience online and tolerant attitudes. Here's a teaser: "Clearly, then, Internet users do give more tolerant responses, even though their tolerance levels do increase as a simple function of more Internet exposure. These differences, moreover, are not a simple function of a common correlation with the basic demographic predictors of Internet use. Internet users, then, do tend to be more tolerant on these GSS items independent of their demographic background." Book should be out mid-next year if you want the full arguement. Just eyeballing one of their tables, it looks like Internet users become more tolerant of assertive minorities, women working outside the home, children thinking for themselves, homosexuality; Internet Users become more confident in science as an institution; they trust more people, think people are fair, and think life is more exciting. These relationships are not monotonic, however, so I probably can't make my life more exciting by using the Internet even more. I certainly think life is more exciting, but I'm not so sure about children thinking for themselves, N=1. p. Philip N. Howard Assistant Professor Department of Communication University of Washington
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Philip N. Howard