Networks of Change: The Sociology of Network Media

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the social dimensions of the Internet and various forms of network media. It places particular emphasis on the network character of such media and how they may change existing forms of social structures in favor of networked forms of organization. The perspective is predominantly sociological, including perspectives from media sociology. The chapter examines existing theoretical arguments concerning the nature of the Internet and network media and their influence on society within the framework of mediatization theory (Hjarvard 2013). The dynamics of networks in social and cultural change are then demonstrated in an analysis of changing forms of individualism in contemporary culture. The chapter is organized as a response to five questions: What is a network? What is not a network? What are networkmedia? What is a network society? What kind of individualism does a network foster?