Internet in Poland. Social Aspects of New Media Use

Dominik Batorski

This article presents the social aspects of Internet use. The basic goal is to abolish some of the myths associated with this issue such as, 'the Internet allows people to level out their life chances, especially with regard to the less privileged groups', 'the Net allows everyone to reach many recipients', or 'it increases user activity and untamed creativity'. According to the social analysis from 2003, the results show Internet availability and other user problems which this article will outline. The issue of Internet exclusion will also be discussed as well as other factors which do not allow everyone equal access in taking advantage of the Internet. Most of the analysis is devoted to the various ways of Internet use. Moreover, due to the fact that the Internet is constantly evolving and not entirely developed as a medium, it's analysis is all the more difficult.

KEYWORDS

Internet, digital exclusion, social relations