The Network Society

Jan A.G.M. van Dijk (1952) is emeritus professor of communication science and sociology of the information society and still working at the University of Twente, the Netherlands.His main domains of research are the social aspects of the digital media, digital democracy and the digital divide. His best known English books are The Network Society (Four Editions, Sage Publications), Digital Democracy (2000, Sage Publications), The Deepening Divide (2005, Sage Publications), Digital Skills (2014, Palgrave Macmillan), Internet and Democracy (2018, Routledge) and The Digital Divide (2020, Polity Press). Since the year 2020 he is working on an overall work called Power & Technology, combining theories of social and natural power explaining the use of technology in human history. During his long career he was an advisory of many governments and departments as well as the European Commission.

If you want to understand or teach the complex, interdisciplinary, and intriguing foundations for and social implications about one of the most significant social and technical transformations in communication history, this is the book. It is wide-ranging, integrative, literate, comprehensive, theoretical and practical, sometimes contrarian, thoughtful, encyclopedic, and moralRonald E. RiceArthur N. Rupe Professor in the Social Effects of Mass Communication, University of California Santa Barbara This new edition provides deep interdisciplinary insight into the significance of new media in our lives. It outlines why we need to understand the frictions between increasingly intelligent machines and the desires of human beings. It does so with great clarity, providing a very valuable measured and critical assessment of the process of becoming a network societyProfessor Robin MansellLondon School of Economics and Political Science Jan Van Dijk draws from multiple theoretical perspectives to characterize historical trends across many sectors of network societies. His conclusion - that the Internet and related new media amplify rather than transform an array of global trends - will inform and stimulate debate about the implications of the communication revolution. The Network Society would be an excellent text for courses on the social role of the Internet and related new mediaWilliam H. DuttonProfessor of Internet Studies, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford The core concept in this book is network 2.0. In a network 2.0 age, the Internet becomes a key channel for social networking. This book truly recognizes societal changes made by technical improvement in digital media. Each chapter is written in a clear and succinct way. It is strongly recommended as a requirement text for both researchers and policy-makersHan Woo ParkDepartment of Media & Communication, YeungNam University, South Korea

• Chapter 1. IntroductionA New Infrastructure for SocietyA Second Communications Revolution?Characteristics of the New MediaCommunication Capacities of the New MediaThe Nature and Design of the Book Chapter 2. Networks: The Nervous System of SocietyWhat is a Network Society?A Short History of the Human WebNetworks at All LevelsCauses of the Rise of NetworksThe Seven ′Laws′ of the Web From Mass Society to Network Society Chapter 3. TechnologyTechnical Foundations of the Network SocietyCurrent Technical Trends Chapter 4. EconomyCauses of the Current Communications RevolutionA Flow EconomyEnterprise 2.0Markets, Hierarchies and NetworksCharacteristics of a Network EconomyThe Producers: From Infrastructure to Service ProvidersThe Consumers: The Pushers and Pulled Chapter 5. Politics and PowerThe Vulnerability of NetworksNetwork Politics The Internet: A Tool for Democracy? E-Participation Power in the OrganizationPrivacy and Personal AutonomyChapter 6. LawThe Law Undermined by NetworksWho Rules the Internet? Information and Communication FreedomIntellectual Property RightsThe Right to PrivacyChapter 7. Social StructureSpace and Time in the Network SocietyThe Blurring Spheres of LivingThe Rise of the Social Media Unity and Fragmentation: A New Social CohesionNetworks and Social (In)EqualityThe Digital Divide The Instability of the Network SocietyChapter 8. CultureWhat Is Digital Culture?Characteristics of Digital CultureThe Quantity and Quality of New Media ContentDigital Youth Culture: Foreshadow of the Future? Trends in New Media UseChapter 9. PsychologyPerception and the New MediaCognition and the New MediaLearning with the New Media The Social Psychology of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)Changes in Human Personality?Chapter 10. Conclusions and Policy PerspectivesGeneral Conclusions The Network Society in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Third WorldPolicy Perspectives for the Network Society