The influence of social environment on internet connectedness of adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei

This article examines the influence of the social environment on adolescents’ connectedness to the internet in East Asia, one of the most wired regions in the world. Connectedness is a qualitative conceptualization of an individual’s relationship with the internet, taking into consideration the breadth, depth, and the importance of individuals’ internet experience. This study seeks to situate adolescents’ internet connectedness in three spheres of social environment: (1) the general social support measured by how easy it is to get help when adolescents encounter problems in using the internet; (2) the parents, where we examine parents’ socioeconomic status and their internet use; and (3) the peer group, where we look into the new media & society Copyright © 2005 SAGE Publications London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi Vol7(1):64–88 [DOI: 10.1177/1461444805049145] ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................