Networked: The New Social Operating System

by Lee Rainie, Barry Wellman

Daily life is connected life, its rhythms driven by endless email pings and responses, the chimes and beeps of continually arriving text messages, tweets and retweets, Facebook updates, pictures and videos to post and discuss. Our perpetual connectedness gives us endless opportunities to be part of the give-and-take of networking.

Some worry that this new environment makes us isolated and lonely. But in Networked, Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman show how the large, loosely knit social circles of networked individuals expand opportunities for learning, problem solving, decision making, and personal interaction. The new social operating system of "networked individualism" liberates us from the restrictions of tightly knit groups; it also requires us to develop networking skills and strategies, work on maintaining ties, and balance multiple overlapping networks. Rainie and Wellman outline the "triple revolution" that has brought on this transformation: the rise of social networking, the capacity of the Internet to empower individuals, and the always-on connectivity of mobile devices. Drawing on extensive evidence, they examine how the move to networked individualism has expanded personal relationships beyond households and neighborhoods; transformed work into less hierarchical, more team-driven enterprises; encouraged individuals to create and share content; and changed the way people obtain information. Rainie and Wellman guide us through the challenges and opportunities of living in the evolving world of networked individuals.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, Internet, Social Media, Sociology, Communication, Psychology

439 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Henry Sienkiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - nice compliment to Bowling Alone and Alone Together.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Networked is a decent attempt at articulating the concept of 'networked individualism,' but ultimately the work says nothing new. The abundance of data is appreciated, however it mostly comes from the same source (co-author Rainie's Pew Internet Research branch). Therefore, Networked is probably useful as a text for an undergradute new media course, but those more advanced in their studies/careers will probably only find it useful for citations of data.

Also, I know this may seem prejudiced, but it's always blatant when an older person writes about new media (See: Henry Jenkins). It is apparent in Networked as well, particularly in one of the final chapters where potential utopian/dystopian futures seem pulled from an early 1990s Hollywood script. Completely unnecessary.

[Laurel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides a good over-view of online networks, however there was nothing new here for me; I imagine because I am now fairly up-to-date on the Internet Studies literature. The authors presented a mostly utopian view of the world online, although they did occasionally nod to the dark side of the internet. I think this book would have been stronger if they would have spent more time discussing the challenges that those who spend a lot of time online face. Increasingly big data, privacy issues and cyber terrorism impact our networked world.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book with some very strange flaws. First off, I respect the researchers' position that they're simply describing a state of affairs that is happening, while attempting to remain objective and not praise or blame technology for the world's problems. However, they nevertheless fall into a lot of biased and biasing language throughout their various chapters, necessarily imputing a moral judgement on technology and networks that is generally positive but uses such biased words that their position seems sometimes strangely undercut by their own peculiar vocabulary. Additionally, the researchers' thesis that networking is here to stay and has some good and bad things going for it but ultimately we're all going to have to work harder to adjust to the "new normal" is, well, kind of problematic. There's a strange shrug of the shoulders about it all even as they praise the efficiencies that new networks can bring to people's lives, so that the extra work, mental energy, and anxieties that it brings with it are mentioned but never seriously considered. All in all this ends up feeling like a very uneven, mostly unfocused kind of book. At least it's written in an easy-to-digest kind of style, so you can get through it faster.

[Jurgen Appelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of social trends, useful conclusions.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well Researched View of Technology Affected Human Social Life - A couple years ago I had seen mention of Barry Wellman’s work in connection in with more recent developments related to the Toronto School of Communication (see my review of McEwen’s "Eric Havelock and the Toronto School"). So, when looking for a reference that looks at increased use and impacts of social and other new media, this book by Rainie and Wellman seemed worth considering.

As it turns out, the book presents a very comprehensive and well researched view of our human social life and how our interactions are being affected by the internet, social and mobile technologies.

More specifically, Rainie and Wellman proceed through three major parts of the book. In Part I, the authors overview “The Triple Revolution” of the internet, mobile and social media; then, they discuss the new social operating system of networked individualism, the social network, the internet, and the mobile revolutions in more depth. As an interlude, they go through a day in a connected life to show how this triple revolution plays out on a daily basis. Continuing in Part II, the authors explain how networked individualism works; they describe networked relationships, families, and work as well as functioning as creators of networked information. For another interlude, they depict how “the conversation never ends” as we interact with one another with these technologies. Concluding with Part III, Rainie and Wellman deal with how to pperate in a networked world, now and into the future; they provide tips about thriving as a networked individual and speculate about the future of networked individualism.

The wealth of back-up studies and data from Rainie affiliated with Pew Institute and veteran sociologist Wellman lend weight to this study. The book certainly documents what was occurring as we adopted these new media as of its publication in 2014 not withstanding their influence in the US 2016 elections. Also see Shirky's "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations," Manovich's "Software Takes Command (International Texts in Critical Media Aesthetics)," Lanier’s "Who Owns the Future?," and Rushkoff’s "Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity" for related texts (see my reviews). The drawback is that our scene continues to change and it is difficult to keep up with the impacts and implications. Fortunately, the authors with their long-standing work and associations also connect us to resources that we can consult overtime to get updates on these developments.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read part of this book in grad school because it was relevant to my studies, and always meant to go back and finish it! Now that I'm finally getting around to doing it, the book definitely feels outdated. That's only to be expected, given how fast technology changes (something that's obviously discussed in the book). But I think it would be interesting to see what the data says about Rainie and Wellman's ideas today.

In retrospect, looking at online networks and mobile technology as a way to build communities or bring people together almost feels naive and nostalgic. It seems like people are more divided today than ever before, both online and off. I don't know what I'm really trying to say with this review overall other than: maybe don't leave something unread on your bookshelf for a decade!

[Anjar Priandoyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book. Basically, this is an answer to my lifelong question "Why in Indonesia, internet usage seems different". To start, some of the different things that Indonesian internet user experiencing are:

1. Many Indonesians use most of their time to socialize in groups, traditionally start from Mailing List (Yahoogroups), and then now under Facebook or Whatsapp Group.
2. People in Indonesia like to discuss politics and religion on the internet.

So the answer, according to this book is everything normal. Indonesian pattern is normal pattern everywhere of internet users.

[Oktagerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book about networking. It is about how we are related in the networked Era.

[John Osman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in Barry Wellman's work on Social Network Analysis and Lee Rainie's work at the Pew Internet and American Life Project led me to this book. Both assist in understanding the new digital social networks by providing a deeper understanding of social networks and their ongoing development on the web.

Others have described the overall book's contents so I will focus on my major take-away.

As one studying faith development, I am interested in the role of communities. One's faith - while certainly a personal endeavor - develops in community. My question is: How do the new digital social networks assist or hinder this process? Or can they?

Rainie provides a major data point related to these questions. He concludes - if I read him correctly - that the digital networks primarily promote individual autonomy which results in "networked individualism." That is, the group or a "bounded" social network plays a reduced role in an individual's identity formation. And this is seen as a good thing by Rainie. I also think this is a good thing but there are significant downsides to network individualism. Rainie's conclusion sends shivers down the spine of one - me - interested in online faith and community formation.

Yet, bounded online networks will continue to play a major role in people's lives. Think of the online network you may be involved in with your work. Why couldn't networks of this type effectively extend to other communities? And what are the values of such networks? How can they address, what I consider, the downside of networked individualism? To Rainie, these groups are oxymorons (closed social networks, really?) and, as such, are related to an old way of socializing. I hope he has overlooked them.

[Jenny Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I read this book for a class, the deadline made my reading experience rather rushed. As such, you should probably take this review with a grain of salt.

I thought Rainie and Wellman's book had some interesting aspects, but it was ultimately a bit dull. The pair relied a bit too heavily on statistics. At times it almost felt like reading a summary of the Pew Research Center's survey responses for the last five years. That said, the conclusions they drew could be interesting (when they didn't seem common sense).

The strongest part of the book was actually the concept of the Triple Revolution introduced at the very beginning of the text. The authors claim that three revolutions (Social Network, Internet, and Mobile) have worked together to profoundly alter the ways people interact with each other both personally and professionally. It was nice to see them separate out sources of change into these three distinct revolutions then simply glossing over all of them by saying something like "advances in technology."

Their concept that each person is an individual connected to many others in various ways and settings rather than a member of distinct groups was also a valuable insight.

[Marc-Aurèle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Je n'ai rien appris avec ce livre et la vision de l'auteur ne me plait pas car elle est superficielle. L'auteur ne semble à mon avis que parler de la génération qui a connu l’essor d'Internet lorsqu'ils étaient déjà adulte et pas de la jeune génération dont Turkle parle dans Alone Together. Puis lire un livre qui ne parle que des statistiques de Pew Internet Research Center, je m'en serais volontiers passé. Il ne parle que des belles choses d'Internet et il ne se pose aucune question sur le pourquoi de ses tant aimées statistiques Pew. Il donne enfin son opinion quand il parle des problèmes de Boeing, bien loin dans le livre.
Ce livre, dans quelques années sera obsolète, et tant mieux. Mettre un chapitre sur le fonctionnement du site Facebook et des profiles montre le niveau de ce livre.

[Maxwell Foxman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book may in the end be a historical snapshot of the early decades of "Network Culture" or whatever it may end up being called. It is incredibly positive and forward thinking, but clear and with a lot of data for the network scholar. I personally identified with it significantly, which may say more about the commonalities between myself (a PhD student of a certain income) then about the trends of being in a further networked world. I still recommend it ultimately for its depth and interest.

[Ivan Kapersky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving it two stars because it was not what I expected. I was expecting a more depth analysis of Social Networks and how people are "Networked" through the different Social Networks. The author does explain it, but in a very simple way, with no theory o recent studies. It simply doesn't get in more depth with the analysis. The way I see it, the book is intended for the population that is new to Social Networks and are not certain how it works or influences our lives. Though, I recommend this book to those persons that are not so attach o never used a Social Network before.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets 4 stars because of the first half. It's about as good an overview on both the technology of networks and the theories of networks that one can ask for in the pursuit of introducing undergraduate students to the concepts.

But Atheismo save me from old men writing about technology. The tone is the kind of hokey only old people trying to be hip can nail. I will never work with either Rainie or Wellman now, I'm sure, but the chances were always slim anyway. And jebus this gets hokey.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the premise of networked is obvious enough and supported by statistics and anecdotes,the authors glossed over: negative impacts of the network, the persisting digital divide, the educational/comprehensional network divide, and corporate control of networking systems. The book's stats and stories came all from internet users or the college educated - not a representative segment of society.

[Wessel van Rensburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few chapters of this book are the most significant. And the key concept from it is that of 'networked individualism'. This explains how even when groups are in decline (Putman's Bowling Alone), we are not necessarily less connected or lonely today.

[Michael Chase · Rating 2 out of 5]

First chapter was great. It shows how a couple in need of assistance used social media for help. But I don't like the comparison of social media to an operating system, but I get what he means. After the first chapter lots of graphs, discussion of data, I got bored and stopped wanting to read on.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refreshingly anti-Turkle, but also pretty obvious. Worth a read, though.

[Mills College Library]

006.754 R157 2012

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aus Recherchegründen überflogen. Eine überschaubare Idee ausgepolstert mit sehr vielen nacherzählten Statistiken.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and provides nice historical and contextual information. Very accessible, great for undergrads or grads. I'm incorporating it into my courses.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read most of this for my Monday class. It was pretty enjoyable.

[Nydia Dávila · Rating 1 out of 5]

Many realities. Facts. Numbers. Let me remind you, that these percents change. But specific.