NETWORKED INDIVIDUALISM

“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept”

- Ansel Adams

Being connected to new relationships and new

resources via the Internet

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

Stories discussed in last class

“Laptop Warriors find cozy homes in coffee shops”

Are We Isolated?

Being at the café by oneself does not mean that I am isolated from any social interaction.

The presence of public

Interaction with others via laptop

Interaction with others via mobile phone

What else ICTs characterize our social interactions in contemporary world?

Social interactions via ICTs

No clear boundary of “group” and “community”

Group-based understanding dismisses “fuzziness” of our social life.

Network-based perspective needed : “Networked Individualism”

Shift from tight, small, dense networks to larger, fragmented, diverse networks.

What’s different from traditional society?

TRADITIONAL “COMMUNITY”

TRADITIONAL “COMMUNITY”

Networked Individualism

Networked Individualism

Communication at their finger tips

Managing complex self-identities

Less formal, yet specialized relationship

Spatially flexible

Private/public spheres blurred

Home/work intermixed

Reputation management important

Disputed “expertise”

Both Socially liberating & socially taxing

Networked Individuals…(who uses ICTs

effectively)

What is Networked Individualism? You find the answer.