Did distance matter before the Internet?: Interpersonal contact and support in the 1970s

Well before the coming of the Internet, strong ties with friends and relatives stretched well beyond the neighborhood: the traditional domain of community. Phones, cars and planes allowed people to have contact over substantial distances. But the mere fact that ties stretched over long distances does not tell us the extent to which distance mattered for contact and support in pre-Internet days. Although scholars have mused about this question, they have not provided empirical evidence. This paper applies multi-level analysis to assess the extent contact and support declines with distance. It shows a marked drop in the frequency of face-to-face contact at about five miles. The frequency of contact continues to decrease steadily further away, with substantial declines happening at about 50 miles and 100 miles. Distance affects telephone contact somewhat differently, with a marked drop only happening at about 100 miles. Distance also has a significant impact on providing tangible support. As our data were gathered in 1978 in the Toronto area of East York, they allow comparisons with how relationships have changed in light of new forms of communication, such as the Internet and mobile phones. 1 Our research has been supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We thank the many people who have participated in the Second East York Study and Natalie Zinko for her help in preparing this article. We dedicate this article to our mentors, John Miron and Charles Tilly, who have never kept their (social) distance from us.