WE LIVE IN A NETWORK SOCIETY

Manuel Castells in his exerpt, 'Afterword: why networks matter' writes, networks are the "underlying structure of our lives" (Castells, 2004). This concept is becoming increasingly evident within our society as we see a generation who is becoming more and more dependent on the ability to network with one another, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Castells writes that the ability and need to network has always been prevalent, however with the growing popularity of the internet and social networking it seems our dependency on the routine of networking is what has increased.

Teodor Mitew in his introductory lecture on Global Networks stated, "networks are a pattern of organsation between entities" (Mitew, 2011). Castells goes on to note, "networks know no boundaries" (Castells, 2004)- whether the network be Google, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, or YouTube- we all use it, and we can each access the information shared on these systems globally, at any time of the day.


In our consumer- driven society, we don't just enjoy using networks- we rely on them. Not only to communicate with others, but as a means of information sharing and learning.

Manuel Castells final words of his work state "networks are the matrix", the originator of all ways of being, connecting and growing. Throughout this subject I hope to broaden my knowledge on the understanding of global networks, and their ability to shape the world in which we live.





Castells, M. (2004) 'Afterword: why networks matter'. In Network Logic: Who governs in an interconnected world? (pp. 219-224) http://www.kirkarts.com/wiki/images/5/51/Castells_Why_Networks_Matter.pdf


Mitew, T. (2011) Lecture 1: Introductory Lecture, 25/07/2011