Society Online: Reviews

Wood, Robert E. "Book Review: Society Online." Contemporary Sociology 34, no 4 (2005), 386-7.

Review Excerpts

"Society Online is welcome evidence of the continuing maturation of internet studies….The editors bring together 20 studies employing a range of data sources and methodologies that shed light on many different facets of social life (pretty much exclusively in the U.S.). The critical factors are: Context, Context, Context. The internet is not a technology that impacts social life as an outside force, but rather a range of new media whose meaning and significance varies widely in different social contexts. As Jones states: “The things we do by using the internet today are in need of both radical contextualization and radical historicization” (p. 326)." (p. 386).

"Society Online gives a good sense of how the internet and other new media are increasingly embedded in almost all facets of social life. It demonstrates the importance of focusing on the specific contexts relevant to both users and non-users. At the same time, it moves beyond the traditional digital divide concern with access to address how different modalities of internet use may reinforce and expand pre-existing social inequalities. Some hints of internet effects that may represent countertrends offer some solace to those who hope that the internet may in the long run facilitate the creation of a more just and equitable society." (p. 387).