Open AccessCommunity Participation and Internet Use after September 11: Complementarity in Channel Consumption
Author(s) -
DuttaBergman Mohan J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00022.x
Subject(s) - complementarity (molecular biology) , terrorism , extant taxon , realm , variety (cybernetics) , the internet , political science , sociology , media studies , public relations , law , computer science , genetics , world wide web , biology , evolutionary biology , artificial intelligence
Crises spark off a wide variety of communicative activities; extant research documents the critical role of the community during crises. The terrorist attacks of September 11 fundamentally challenged the very fabric of American society. How did Americans respond to the crisis posed by the terrorist attacks of September 11 in their communicative choices? Based on the theory of channel complementarity, this article argues that individuals who participated in online communities to post and read thoughts about the attacks were also more likely to participate in real communities. An analysis of the data gathered by the Pew Center immediately after the 9/11 attacks demonstrates support for the theory of channel complementarity in the realm of community participation.