ABSTRACT
This chapter echoes some of the broader themes of this book. The experience of city life is fostered by the social interaction among its inhabitants. The concern with the changing nature of the social bond that ties people together has been of paramount importance. Sociologists have investigated the connections between social capital and the physical and social well-being of community residents. Involvement in social networks is vital to one's health and well-being as well as promoting community involvement. Robert Putnam, writing in 2000, laments the decline of social capital and expresses skepticism that various forms of the Internet and social media can compensate for this loss. Barry Wellman and his colleagues, responding to Putnam, argue that these new communication technologies will increasingly become more important to promote social capital and facilitate social bonding. The evidence in the last 20 years validates many of the points made by Wellman. The use of the Internet and social media to both inform, critique, and act on and create events including protest movements reveals its rising significance.
