Internet technologies evolve so quickly that all Internet studies relating to psychology and sociology must be placed in context with the available. Studies may run for two years before analysis, so it is important to see what technologies were available to participants at the time.
These changes can explain why studies link social isolation to the Internet in 1998, but by 2002, show the opposite effect.
Selected Timeline of Social Technologies and Internet Studies:
| 1993 | Mosaic web browser released. |
| 1996 November | ICQ, the first commercial Instant Messaging program, is released by Mirabilis. |
| 1998 | HomeNet, a research project at Carnegie Mellon University, releases its first report linking Internet usage to diminished psychological well-being. |
| 1999 February | The term "blog" coined. |
| 1999 August | Blogger launched. |
| 1999 December | Norman Nie, director of the Stanford Center for the Quantitative Study of Society, releases a report on internet usage. |
| 2002 | Friendster, a social networking software, is launched. Thefacebook, a similar application targeting college students, is also released. |
| 2002 | HomeNet releases an updated report, this time linking Internet use to positive communication and psychological well-being. |
| 2004 December | Nie releases an updated study on Internet usage and personal lives. |