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How did the absence of mobile phones affect the romantic life and death of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? The difference in their situation would have been part of the social change to networked individualism from group-based societies. The Mobile Revolution would have afforded personal communication rather than the household-centered communication of the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet would have been always available to each other, instead of wondering where the other might be. Location-aware apps would have plotted their whereabouts. The course of true love would have been more connected.

For a growing cohort of Americans, Internet tools have become a significant conduit of social life and work life. The surveys of the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2000 show that more than 52 million Americans went online each day, and there are significant differences in use between men and women, young and old, those of different races and ethnic groups, and those of different socioeconomic status. A user typology can be built around two variables: the length of time a person has used the Internet and the frequency with which he or she logs on from home. The authors contend that use of e-mail helps people build their social networks by extending and maintaining friend and family relationships.