Networked individualism represents the shift of the classical model of social arrangements formed around hierarchical bureaucracies or social groups that are tightly-knit, like households and work groups, to connected ''individuals'', using the means provided by the evolution of

Information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and comput ...

. Although the turn to networked individualism started before the advent of the internet, it has been fostered by the development of social media networks.

Origin of the term

The term was coined by

Barry Wellman Barry Wellman (born 1942) is a Canadian-American sociologist and is the co-director of the Toronto-based international NetLab Network. His areas of research are community sociology, the Internet, human-computer interaction and social structur ...

in 2000, and first published by

Manuel Castells Manuel Castells Oliván (; ; born 9 February 1942) is a Spanish sociologist. He is well known for his authorship of a trilogy of works, entitled The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. He is a scholar of the information society, com ...

and Barry Wellman in 2001. It was elaborated on by Lee Rainie and

in their 2012 book ''Networked: The New Social Operating System'' (MIT Press).

Definition

The networked individuals are members of diverse groups in which they seek different things; for instance, the same set of individuals could be in a group used to seek emotional support while another group might be used to get good addresses in a city. Those groups can be dispersed around the globe, and the combination of those networks make for a highly individualized, and well-networked, person. This new world of networked individualism is oriented around looser, more fragmented networks that provide on-demand succor. Such networks had already formed before the coming of the internet. In incorporating the internet and mobile phones into their lives, people have changed the ways they interact with each other. They have become increasingly networked as individuals, rather than embedded in groups. In the world of networked individuals, it is the person who is the focus; more than the family, the work unit, the neighborhood, and the social group.

Typology of networked individualism

Recent research has suggested a variety in networked individualism. ''Networked'' individuals are members of multiple, loosely-knit social circles. ''Bounded'' individuals belong to only a few social circles. ''Limited'' individuals have the smaller number of social ties.

Implications for the future of society

Social relationships are changing, and technology is a driving force in many of these changes. There are some fears that the digital technologies are killing society, but studies by th
Pew Internet Project
show that these technologies are not isolated — or isolating — systems. They are being incorporated into people’s social lives much like their predecessors were. Barry Wellman questioned the future of networked individualism after the event of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

in his short essay, ''The Rise (and Possible Fall) of Networked Individualism''.

References

{{Reflist Social systems