The Network Society; Social Aspects of New Media

by Jan van Dijk

• ISBN13: 9781412908689
• ISBN10: 141290868X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-11-05
• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

Summary

The last three decades have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in the use, demand, and need for telecommunications, data communication, and mass communication transmitted and integrated into networks. Through a synthesis of contemporary theories about modernization, this book offers a broad-ranging introduction to the 'network' society in all its aspects. Key Features Analyzes the new media in all their technical, economic, political, sociological, cultural and psychological aspects. A? Examines the new media in terms of their impact on both public policy and private life. A? Compares legal and policy initiatives in North America, Europe, Eastern Asia, and the Third World. A? Enables the reader to critical assess the 'hype' which surrounds the Internet and other new media. In comparison to the boundless speculation accompanying the new media, this book offers a well-balanced but critical overview of the telecommunications revolution. In providing an interdisciplinary yet highly accessible introduction to the field, it will be essential reading for all students of media and communication studies.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(18)
A New Infrastructure for Society	1	(2)
A Second Communications Revolution?	3	(3)
Characteristics of the New Media	6	(7)
Communication Capacities of the New Media	13	(4)
The Nature and Design of this Book	17	(2)
Networks: The Nervous System of Society	19	(23)
The Network Society and Other Classifications	19	(2)
A Short History of the Human Web	21	(3)
Networks at All Levels	24	(5)
Causes of the Rise of Networks	29	(3)
From Mass Society to Network Society	32	(5)
Changing Relations in the Network Society	37	(5)
Technology	42	(19)
Introduction	42	(1)
Technical Foundations of the Network Society	43	(3)
Telecommunication Networks	46	(2)
Data Communication Networks	48	(3)
Mass Communication Networks	51	(2)
Integrated Networks	53	(2)
Multimedia and Broadband Networks	55	(3)
Future Trends	58	(3)
Economy	61	(34)
Introduction	61	(1)
Causes of the Current Communications Revolution	62	(3)
A Flow Economy	65	(7)
Markets, Hierarchies and Networks	72	(4)
A New Economy?	76	(5)
The Producers: From Infrastructure to Service Providers	81	(8)
The Consumers: Pushers and Pulled	89	(4)
Conclusions	93	(2)
Politics and Power	95	(32)
Introduction	95	(1)
The Vulnerability of Networks	96	(2)
The Spread and Concentration of Politics	98	(5)
The Claims of E-Government and Digital Democracy	103	(5)
Power in the Organization	108	(4)
Privacy and Personal Autonomy	112	(13)
Conclusions	125	(2)
Law	127	(29)
Introduction	127	(1)
The Law Undermined by Networks	128	(2)
Who Rules the Internet?	130	(7)
Information and Communication Freedom	137	(6)
Rights of Ownership	143	(6)
The Right to Privacy	149	(5)
Conclusions	154	(2)
Social Structure	156	(34)
Introduction	156	(1)
Space and Time in the Network Society	157	(4)
The Blurring Spheres of Living	161	(4)
Communities and Social Relations	165	(6)
Unity and Fragmentation: A New Social Cohesion	171	(3)
Networks and Social (In)equality	174	(3)
The Digital Divide	177	(9)
The Instability of the Network Society	186	(2)
Conclusions	188	(2)
Culture	190	(20)
Introduction	190	(1)
Living in a Digital Culture	191	(8)
The Quantity and Quality of New Media Content	199	(5)
Changing Media Use	204	(4)
Conclusions	208	(2)
Psychology	210	(30)
Introdution	210	(1)
Perception and the New Media	211	(6)
Cognition and the New Media	217	(7)
Learning with the New Media	224	(2)
The Social Psychology of CMC	226	(7)
Changes in the Human Personality?	233	(5)
Conclusions	238	(2)
Conclusions and Policy Perspectives	240	(24)
Introduction	240	(1)
General Conclusions	240	(4)
The Information and Network Society in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Third World	244	(9)
Policy Perspectives for the Network Society	253	(11)
Glossary	264	(8)
References	272	(16)
Index	288