questions to consider

as i said before this blog is for an anthropology class, life online. the class has an even bigger interest to me because i am writing one of my senior theses on essentially the same topic. i thought i would post some of the questions i have been thinking about in formulating my thesis. they are as follows....

While the main question of interest is to decide whether ICT's and CMC allow individuals to expand their social networks and the consequences of this new idea of community. One must also consider a number of related or illucidating questions as well. Some of these additional questions are outlined below.

What is community? What are the values of community? Do we need community? (theoretical discussion)
Do internet communication technologies (ICT's) create community? Are there specific communities that exist now that couldn't have before the advent of ICT's?
Does computer-mediated communication (CMC) allow people to expand social networks? Do the size of people social networks grow with internet use? Does it specifically expand the number of strong or weak ties in a person's social network?
Is CMC replacing face-to-face interaction and/or redefining community? Do people with high ICT use still participate in local community? How has the definition of community changes with the advent of the internet?
What about participation in online communities is highly desirable for some people?
Do online social networks resemble real world networks? Do they exhibit the same characteristics?
What are the consequences of using technology as a means of social interaction? Do people question their use of technology as a means of communication?