Social Theory after the Internet: Media, Technology, and GlobalizationThe internet has fundamentally transformed society in the past 25 years, yet existing theories of mass or interpersonal communication do not work well in understanding a digital world. Nor has this understanding been helped by disciplinary specialization and a continual focus on the latest innovations. Ralph Schroeder takes a longer-term view, synthesizing perspectives and findings from various social science disciplines in four countries: the United States, Sweden, India and China. His comparison highlights, among other observations, that smartphones are in many respects more important than PC-based internet uses. Social Theory after the Internet focuses on everyday uses and effects of the internet, including information seeking and big data, and explains how the internet has gone beyond traditional media in, for example, enabling Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to come to power. Schroeder puts forward a sophisticated theory of the role of the internet, and how both technological and social forces shape its significance. He provides a sweeping and penetrating study, theoretically ambitious and at the same time always empirically grounded.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media and society, the internet and politics, and the social implications of big data. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
agenda agenda-setting alternative media American analysed argued argument audiences autonomy Baidu Baike become behaviour big data broadcast campaign cent chapter China Chinese circumvent citizens civil society commercial communication competition consumers culture digital media discussed diverse dominant economic election engagement everyday example Facebook forces four countries gatekeepers global Google Google’s groups idea ideologies implications increasingly India India and China information seeking infrastructure inputs interaction journalists knowledge large technological system limited attention space mainly mainstream media markets mass media media companies media systems mobile phones Modi’s nationalist offline party people’s political elites populist public-service Put differently realm regime relation right-wing populism role of media Schroeder search engines seen shaping share smartphones social change social media social science social theory sources subsystem Sweden Democrats targeting technological determinism technoscience tethered tetheredness tion traditional media Trump tweets Twitter users websites whereby Wikipedia YouTube zero-sum