This paper explores the social use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the city of Tampere, Finland. It focuses on two essential elements: the city (as the location with national context) and citizens (as members of the "local" information society). The paper also examines the question of building social networks via the Internet. The aim is to concentrate on the possible significance of the new technologies in social processes. For example, the popular media commonly offer an exaggerated picture of the impact of the Internet on the creation of social contacts. An essential characteristic of this paper is to evaluate the "human-centered" significance of digital divides: What does the use or non-use of ICTs mean or represent to citizens living in a certain spatial location with a certain cultural orientation? The goal of the paper is to provide key-results and a discussion of the following questions. Digital Divides: (1) What are the essential socioeconomic characteristics behind the existing divides and how vast are the differences? (2) How relevant to the respondents is their experience of the Internet and its contents? (3) What is the level of the interest for Internet self education with free or low-cost Internet courses provided by the city or other public organizations? Social Interactions: (4) How much Internet or e-mail communications have been used in order to create new social relations and are these relations national or international? (5) Do the respondents believe that Internet and mobile communications have improved their quality of life? Speeding Up of Life: (6) Is there a connection between the amount of computer use and the experience of increased demands of work (stress)? (7) To what extent has the line between home and work diminished with the growth of distance work? (8) How large a proportion of the respondents could have the opportunity to do distance work if they wanted? (Contains 5 tables.)