The Network Society 4/e

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.

Chapter 1. Introduction A New Infrastructure of Society A Second Communication Revolution Characteristics of the Digital Media Communication Capacities of Digital Media The Nature and Design of this Book Chapter 2. Networks: the Nervous System of Society What is a Network Society? A Short History of the Human Web Networks at All Levels Causes of the Rise of Networks The Seven 'Laws' of the Web From Mass Society to Network Society Chapter 3. Technology The Relationship Between Technology and Society Technical Foundations of the Network Society Current Technical Trends Chapter 4. Economy The First, Second and Third Communications Revolution Markets, Hierarchies and Networks Main Characteristics of a Network and Data Economy The Network Producers: From Infrastructure to Service Providers The Rise of a Platform Economy Consumers: the Pushers and the Pulled Chapter 5. Social Structure Space and Time in the Network Society The Blurring Spheres of Living Social Networks and Social Media Unity and Fragmentation: A New Social Cohesion The Instability of the Network Society Networks and Social (In)equality The Digital Divide Chapter 6. Power and Politics What is Network Power? Technological Power Societal Power: Politics and Democracy Internet: Between Freedom and Control Power in the Organization Privacy and Personal Autonomy Chapter 7. Culture What is Digital Culture? Characteristics of Digital Culture The Quantity and Quality of Digital Media Content Digital Youth Culture Trends in Digital Media Use Chapter 8. Psychology Perception and the Digital Media Cognition and the Digital Media Learning with the Digital Media The Social Psychology of Digital Media Communication Changes in Human Personality? Chapter 9. Law The Law Undermined by Networks Who Rules the Internet? Information and Communication Freedom Intellectual Property Rights The Right to Privacy Platform Regulation Chapter 10. Conclusions and Policy Perspectives General Conclusions The Network Society in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Third World Policy Perspectives for the Network Society

This 4th edition provides interdisciplinary insight into the growing significance of digital media in society. It comprehensively explains why the process of becoming a network society varies worldwide as a result of differing values and responses to the emergence of varied structures, processes and control systems. -- Robin Mansell This fourth edition of Jan A.G.M. van Dijk's classic book, The Network Society, clarifies and analyses a wide variety of crucial concepts and contemporary practices, with insight, clarity, analysis, and critique, as well as examples, boxed explanations, and conclusions for each chapter. Topics include social values, digital media capacities, multimedia, network theory, medium theory, network society, technological foundations, platform economy, space and time, social media, digital divide, network power, privacy, digital culture, social psychology of online communication, platform regulation, intellectual property rights, global and developing network societies, and policy perspectives. This is a necessary and accessible textbook for understanding the age of digital networks. -- Ronald E. Rice The publication of the 4th edition of Professor Van Dijk's The Network Society speaks volumes for its value across multiple disciplines. This new edition updates his refreshingly global perspective on the growing psychological, cultural, economic and other social issues shaping the future of policy and practice in our increasingly digital world. -- William H. Dutton