Abstract
This collection is part of the Information Age Series edited by Manuel Castells, who provides a preface emphasising the way in which the internet has become part of the ‘fabric’ of everyday life. The editors’ introduction seeks to highlight and further explicate this theme. The editors outline the ‘first age of the internet’, which in the early 1990s was perceived as a virtual force separate from, and hovering above, society. In this respect the internet was seen as isolated from other media. Separate from power relations it was thought to be egalitarian, democratic, and heavy with the potential to transform the world. This utopian perspective is challenged by the editors who aim to locate the internet as ‘lived experience’ embedded in everyday life, rather than as a ‘cyberspace’ where transformation into second selves or ‘cyber-identities’ is common. The editors are unequivocal in their presentation of the second age of the internet. The presentation of the internet as a ‘dazzling light’ managed by ‘wizards’ and other white middle class young men is superseded by the notion that the internet is not a ‘special system’, but instead ‘routinely incorporated’ into everyday life’ (p. 6), with internet activities centring on email use, reading the news, and obtaining travel and medical information.
The editors’ vision of the second age internet is to be welcomed as it provides a platform to explore the way in which the internet, rather than functioning independently of society and everyday life, has been integrated into existing patterns of sociality. It is perceived as allowing connectivity at the level of community, civic engagement, and domesticity across on and offline modes that facilitates a variety of traditional and familiar, new and innovative modes of contact.
With its focus on everyday life the books seeks to explore the extent to which the internet facilitates the creation of new forms of relationship and connectivity or reproduces established forms of behaviour and patterns of social and organisation. In exploring this dynamic, the editors present a collection of papers, which are contributed by leading scholars from North America, Asia, and Europe. The articles are based on original research and highlight the symbiotic relationship between the internet and everyday life. This varied collection of material has clear editorial direction and is organised into a four themes including: education, community, use patterns, and forms of connectivity. These sections are united by the acceptance that the internet is integral to human activity and cannot be separated from lived experience and the reality of everyday life. Furthermore, it is suggested that the embeddedness of the internet in everyday life is not only defined by its integration into life-world activity, but also structured by the ways in which spheres of life, such as work and home, become intertwined (eg Salaff pp. 464–496). The editors do note, however, that an exploration of the relationship between society and the internet is not complete without examining ‘non-internet’ use and those groups who do not have access to such technology, as this allows for an exploration of the power dynamics surrounding both patterns of access and use that shape internet culture.
In exploring the dynamic between on- and off-line worlds and the synergy between spheres of life, the contributors provide valuable insight into the second age of the internet. The second part of the text: ‘The place of the internet in everyday life’ offers a series of chapters that provide useful observations about the internet population, use patterns, and the ways in which different groups creatively appropriate the internet to meet diverse needs (Wenhong et al., pp. 74–114). For example, the chapter by Philip et al. (pp. 45–74) provides a user typology based around the length of time the participant has used the internet and ‘home-use’. The chapters in this section avoid making the assumption that the internet is acquired as an ‘add on’ to existing routines and behaviours in everyday life, but instead indicate the way that the internet becomes a tool to enhance and compliment existing patterns of behaviour by both extending and maintaining patterns of sociality. Indeed, Anderson and Tracey (pp. 139–164) examine domestic internet acquisition in the UK and note that while the place of the internet in people's lives is diverse and complicated, most tend to use the internet as a means to enhance an existing life style. Hence, internet use is closely bound to an individual's preexisting values and current organisation of everyday life, rather than redefining everyday lived experience.
In addition to examining the way in which individuals have chosen to appropriate the internet, part four offers an exploration of the relationship between the internet and everyday life and ‘community’. A vast collection of scholarly research has examined the notion of virtual community and much of the work has provided support for the utopian perspective, where the internet and its communities are presented as disembedded from everyday life, offering the prospect of global villages and participation based around values of participation (Rheingold, 2000). In this section of the collection, the contributors examine the way in which the internet can enhance existing connectivities and relationships, rather than facilitating a retreat into a virtual world. For example, Bonka and Kraut (pp. 372–404) offer the results of a fascinating study, which examines gender, the use of email, and the maintenance of personal relationships. In providing further support that second age internet use maintains existing patterns of behaviour and sociality through its integration into everyday life, the authors shine light on the way in which men and women use email to communicate with family and friends. This is a welcome contribution as it ties research findings to wider observations about the gendered nature of communication within the family, indicating that while men are using email to maintain contact with off-spring, women are obliged to use the technology to perform duties, such as communicating with in-laws.
This is a comprehensive text, offering a rich and diverse perspective on second age internet use. The text could have benefited from a summary at the beginning of each section providing a thematic overview, but on the whole this is a valuable resource for students and scholars working around the area of media, communication, and technology.