Resumen
Given the importance and visibility of the HomeNet study, it is not surprising it provoked severe criticism from other researchers. Much of the criticism focused on the measures used to assess psychological well-being and social involvement and the representativeness of the sample. To explain changes in findings over time within the original HomeNet study, maturation of participants and changes in how they used the Internet may account for the dissipation of negative psychological and social effects. Further, discrepancies in findings between the follow-up to the original study and the longitudinal survey study may be attributable to unmeasured sample differences. Other research examining the social impact of Internet use has produced mixed results. Some studies found Internet use contributes to psychological well-being by providing opportunities for social connection and community, as well as convenient access to information. Other studies indicate that Internet use undermines well-being because online connections are weaker than real-life connections, or because online connections are often used to replace real-life relationships and activities.