Understanding the Internet : a socio-cultural perspective / Bridgette Wessels.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wessels, Bridgette.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects.

Internet.

Physical Description:

x, 233 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

Summary:

The Internet is an ever-evolving global phenomenon and is part of the continuous shaping of new social worlds, opportunities and identities. This book introduces and analyses the ways in which the internet and Contemporary society interact with one another.

This student-focused book examines the development of the Internet and its increasingly significant role in our everyday society, from virtual worlds and social networking to networked communication and mobile work. Guiding readers through the cultural history of the Internet, the book argues that the overall impact of the World Wide Web can only be fully understood within a socio-cultural context. Wessel presents a timely and original conceptual framework that helps students to explore these contexts for themselves, looking at the social impact of online worlds in terms in terms of work and welfare, identity and inequality, culture and everyday life. Each chapter incorporates an extensive range of fresh case studies from across the globe, whilst a handy glossary gives definitions of complex technical jargon.

Drawing on a wide range of contextual material, this book gives readers acritical, but real-world understanding of the Internet and Society. It is Invaluable reading for all those studying the Internet within sociology, media studies and Cultural studies.

Contents:

1 Addressing the Internet as Socio-Cultural Forms 1

Introduction 1

Outline and Context of the Argument 1

Outline of Chapters 4

2 The Cultural History of the Internet 9

Introduction 9

A Framework for Historical Analysis 9

Framing the History of the Internet 11

The Internet's Theatre of Innovation 15

Analysis: Linking the Details of the Innovation of the Internet with Social Change 26

Conclusion 28

3 Cultural Forms and Socio-Technical Change 30

Introduction 30

Addressing Technology and Social Change 31

Deconstructing the Relationship between Technology and Social Change 32

Associating Technology and Social Worlds: Work in Institutionalizing Technology 34

Addressing the Cultural Dynamics of Technological Change 37

Conclusion 46

4 The Socio-Cultural Environment of the Internet 47

Introduction 47

Social Landscape of the Internet 47

Relationships between the Internet and Society 51

The Transformation of Sociability: Networked Individualism and Networked Social Movements 53

The Social Dynamics of the Internet and Conceptualizing Information Society 55

Conclusion 64

5 Work and the Internet 65

Introduction 65

Relations of Production: The Changing Context of Work 65

Narratives Regarding Work in the e-Economy 69

Participation in the Workplace 72

Participation and Organizational Issues 77

Participation and Gender 79

Conclusion 82

6 Public Policy and the Internet 83

Introduction 83

The Logic of the Internet in Public Policy 83

Internet and Political Process 88

The Internet in Public Services and Democratic Processes 91

The Internet in Health and Social Care 98

Conclusion 102

7 Exclusion, Inclusion and the Internet 103

Introduction 103

General Context of Inclusion and Exclusion 103

Exclusion and Digital Divides: The Global Dimension 107

Access and Knowledge 110 Case Studies: The Dynamics of Inclusion and Internet Socio-Cultural Forms 115

Conclusion 122

8 Culture, Everyday Life and the Internet 124

Introduction 124

Cultural Change and Everyday Life 125

The Second Age of the Internet and Everyday Life 129

Routines and Practices in Daily Life 131

Networks and Networked Individuals as Social Forms 132

Placing the Internet in the Meaningfulness of Everyday Life 134

Conclusion 141

9 Cyber Cultures and the Internet 143

Introduction 143

Considering Culture, Mediated Communication and Practice 143

Defining and Working with Cyber Culture 145

Living Cyber Culture: Narratives of the Form 148

Experiences of (Cyber) Cultural Activity: Hopes, Dreams and Actualities 150

Conclusion 160

10 The Communications Environment and the Internet 162

Introduction 162

Shaping a Communications Environment: Continuity and Change 163

Key Concepts in Analysing New Media 164

The Social Relations of a New Communications Environment: The New and the Established 168

Mediapolis and Proper Distance in Communication 177

Conclusion 179

11 Conclusion 181

Introduction 181

Social and Technological Change in the Context of the Internet 181

Internet as Socio-Cultural Form: The Communicative Turn 182

Relations of Production 184

Narratives of the Form 185

Modes of Participation in the Form 186

Internet as a Socio-Cultural Form in Contemporary Society 187.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0230517331

9780230517332

023051734X

9780230517349

OCLC:

463674720