Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2002, pp. 195--205 Is the Internet Changing Social Life? It Seems the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Tom R. Tyler ∗ New York University Although there has been a tremendous amount of discussion in the popular press about how the Internet is changing all facets of social life, research on the impact of the Internet is only beginning to emerge. A review of the studies reported in this issue suggests that the Internet may have had less impact on many aspects of social life than is frequently supposed. In many cases, the Internet seems to have created a new way of doing old things, rather than being a technology that changes the manner in which people live their lives. As a consequence, the policy implications of increasing Internet use may be less than is often believed. There is no question that easy access to the Internet, like the introduction of reliable mail service and the invention of the telephone, has changed the nature of people’s connection to others in their social world. Mail made possible connections among people without physical proximity, and the telephone facilitated commu- nication among distant people, making rapid connections possible across long distances. The Internet has created an electronic mail system, merging the speed and flexibility of the telephone with the written character of the mail. People can now write letters that are transmitted virtually immediately throughout the globe. But has this communication revolution changed the nature of interpersonal and group processes? The research reviewed in this issue makes it clear that the basic nature of people’s relationships with others may have changed less because of the Internet than is often suggested. On the contrary, there are suggestions that the Internet may be a new way for people to do old things. That is, there may be new and useful capabilities associated with electronic communication, and those may have led to changes in patterns of life, but the basic social patterns of ∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tom R. Tyler, Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, Room 550, New York, NY 10003 [e-mail: tom.tyler@nyu.edu]. 195 C  2002 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues