Abstract

The growth of high-speed internet access in rural communities is a relatively recent event. In this study, I contribute to the literature regarding the internet and local community by analyzing the influence of internet activity on community experience, measured through community satisfaction and attachment, using the systemic model as controls. After surveying 24 rural communities in Utah, USA once in 2008 and again in 2017, I find a negative association between community experience and increased use of the internet for informational purposes. While my models find mixed findings that community experience has decreased over time in rural areas, I find evidence that internet activity can affect community experience, strengthening arguments that researchers should control for more than mere internet access. Due to the associations between internet activities and community experience, I argue that rural policymakers should find place-based ways to strengthen community experience.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Sociology

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/