The Network Society

The Network Society provides a compelling examination of the social, political, and economic implications of network technologies and their application across a wide range of practices and institutions. Whether new information and communication technologies have given birth to a new form of society or reinforce and extend existing patterns and relationships is a matter still under debate. This book provides a clear and engaging discussion of these and other issues. Using a sophisticated model of the relationship between technology and society, it investigates both what has changed and what has remained the same in the age of the Internet. Among the topics discussed are debates concerning the emergence of a "knowledge economy"; digital restructuring of employment and work; globalization and the status of the nation-state; the prospects of digital democracy; the digital divide; new social movements; and culture, community, and identity in the age of new media.

Darin Barney is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Ottawa.