My Review

            Today our society is embroiled in technology more than ever. Smart phones are starting to become the norm, and it is rare to find someone in a technologically developed area of the world that does not use the Internet on a regular basis. The world of Facebook and Twitter are getting larger by the day as more and more people conform to social networks. Online interactions are becoming more normal than before. But is this good for society, or does the lack of face-to-face interactions provide social isolation? Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman explore this question and more in their book Networked. In the book, the two argue that the rampant use of technology is, in fact, making us more social than ever before.

            One of the main topics that the book explores is networked individualization. The idea of networked individualization, according to Rainie and Wellman is that “in the world of networked individuals, it is the person who is the focus: not the family, not the work unit, not the neighborhood, and not the social group” (Rainie and Wellman). Unlike other interactions, when people are communicating with their mobile devices and computers, the individual is put at the center. The individual is reaching out from their devices to not only interact with multitudes of people, but also to do other things on their devices. People are multitasking today more than ever and they have become multithreaded, because they are doing many tasks simultaneously. To look at another perspective, Jan van Dijk states that network individualization is when “the individual is becom[es] the most important node in the network society and not a particular place, group or organization” (van Dijk). Along the same lines as Rainie and Wellman, van Dijk points to the individual as the most important part of today’s global network society. Van Dijk , like Rainie and Wellman, believes that even as people spend more time alone with their technology, they are still being very social online. As people become more into their technologies, they are becoming more social, just in a different way then than the face-to-face interactions of the past. As networked individuals delve into the world of social media and online interactions, they are making more connections than ever before.

            One of the key points talked about in Networked is the Triple Revolution. The Triple Revolution refers to the Social Network Revolution, the Internet Revolution, and the Mobile Revolution (Rainie and Wellman). The Social Network Revolution refers to the new opportunities for people to reach beyond their tight knit groups and into much more diverse wide spread networks. The Internet Revolution, has given people much more powerful ways to communicate and gather information than ever before. The Mobile Revolution allows us to access our networks and information wherever we go leading to a continuous presence and awareness of our networks. Rainie and Wellman argue that together, these three revolutions make it possible for the network individualist to meet all their needs. 

            The Social Network Revolution and the Internet Revolution go hand in hand. To show that these two revolutions help society today meet their needs can be seen in a couple of examples. Rainie and Wellman discuss the story of Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz. In 2007, Trudy tripped and fell and got a serious head injury. The medical bills were going to cost a lot and the family would need as much support as they could get. Peter sent a picture of Trudy’s bandaged head to a few friends. From here the power of the Internet and social media took over. The family’s friends sent the pictures to more friends of theirs and also to all the networks that Peter and Trudy had become a part of over the years. This not only included their close knit friends in the neighborhood, but also people they had met online through social media such as a forum for a jazz vocalist’s website. Shortly, money and support came pouring in and the family was able to get back on its feet showing the power of networks.

            Social Media and the Internet also have the power to start a revolution. Look no further than the revolution in Egypt in 2011. The revolution was spread by the power of social media. With the rise of the Internet in Egypt, Egyptians were able to talk more about politics and dissatisfaction with the regime. “New media environments opened up a space for political discussion and dialog in Egypt that, while not inclusive of the total population, at least presented the potential for bridging dialogs” (Srinivasan). Without social media, it can be said that it would be unlikely that revolution would even happen. The Internet helped with the spreading of revolutionary ideas across Egypt. Egyptians connected to each other, as they never had before. Even if all Egyptians did not have access to the Internet, social media led to more people being informed. Those Egyptians that did have Internet were able to tell their friends that did not about the situations and political discussions going on. This spreading of ideas by both the Internet and word of mouth eventually led to a regime change. This shows how the Internet and social media can help make important connections that, at their height, can change the world.

            The mobile revolution is the last part of the Triple Revolution, and perhaps the most relevant to teens today. Today, teenagers are texting each other all the time. “People use mobile phones to be a part of their networks even when they are in the midst of their families” (Rainie and Wellman). Because of the mobile revolution, teens, and others, are able to stay connected to their networks wherever they are. Take for example Craig Watkins. He writes about his cousin, who spent much of her time looking down at her phone texting. While some people may conclude that she is antisocial as she is more focused on her phone than her family, Watkins concludes that his cousin “was anything but antisocial” (Watkins). She was texting up to six people at once and demonstrates presence-in-absence. This refers to being physically present, but mentally absent, as his cousin was being very social and talking with her friends that were not in the room. This is a hallmark of the mobile revolution, where networked individuals are finding ways to expand their space and check in on their networks even when they are not physically present in those networks. The mobile revolution allows for this “presence-in-absence”, which, in turn, increases sociability, and allows society today to be more social than before, just in different ways.

            Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman make a very good case for why the networked individual is more social than those not connected. The Triple Revolution highlights how, that in today’s society, even though face-to-face interactions are less common, individuals have still found ways to flourish socially. Whether it is through social media, the Internet, or mobile devices, the networked individual in today’s world has found ways to increase sociability and expand his or her network to proportions that have never been seen before.