#1 ICT

Network society

At the very beginning, I'd like us to think about society in general. Saying 'society' we usually mean a group of people who communicate with each other, who have a certain relation and share some territory, not necessarily a geographical one. So when we add to it affix 'network', we know that this term is still related to a certain group of people, but it's somehow more specified. So what's the difference?

Network society is a phenomenon which describes changes in society. (as well in many other fields as politics, economy etc.) caused by ubiquitous technologies, digital information or social media. Needless to say, that people have established a new society that lives on-line.

I also found other explanation:

As we already learned what network society is, I'd like to focus on its influence on our lives.

Or at least mine.

by: Natalia Kozak

Our lives have changed - instead going to shop we choose buying on-line, we don't have to go to a library to borrow a book, because great majority of them is available on the Internet, cinemas are slowly falling into oblivion since one can watch movies on-line. Our lives became more convenient. Nevertheless, it has a great impact also on our relations with others. You can keep in touch with your friends wherever you are. You're not restricted by boundaries such as time or space. If you need to get a specific information here and now, it's possible. You can call, you can send a message. When they are far away, you can say something that will make them feel better, you can send them best wishes. Or you can just copy and paste. And machine may remind you that today is your parents' anniversary. What am I driving at? I think that sometimes our facilities do more harm than good. Our relationships become poorer, we don't meet that often as we used to, we don't feel such need to go out since almost everything and everyone is available on the Internet. I think that this virtual reality is still something new for us, or at least for generation that wasn't raised on computers. The point is to find a balance between these two worlds and use all these conveniences wisely.