Does the "Platform Society" Mean the End of the "Network Society?" Reflections on Platforms and the Structure and Dynamics of Networks

Bibliographic Data

ID3758351
AuthorsFrancesca Comunello (0000-0001-5845-5807, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Europe, corresponding author), Simone Mulargia (0000-0002-6131-3479, LUMSA, Roma, Europe)
Year2023
Volume67
Issue7
Pages859-871
Publication date2023-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00027642221092797
OpenAlexW4229029569
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited18

Scholars and journalistic accounts have devoted growing interest to the centralizing trends characterizing platforms and the "platform society." They often oppose this model to the alleged openness, horizontality, and "equality" they attach to "networks." Such depictions seem willing to give up on a thorough consideration of network structure, which appears nowadays less fundamental to reflect on the digital world (and society) than it was 25 years ago. Or even question whether the network society model, as proposed by Castells, is unsuitable for describing contemporary society. In our opinion, the dichotomy opposing the (alleged) openness and egalitarian nature of networks (and of the network society), to the current centralization trends characterizing the platform society, as well as the subsequent assumption that networks are an outdated heuristic tool, derive from a misunderstanding of networks' structure and dynamics. Scholars have shown that the structure of most complex networks can be defined as "scale-free," following a power-law distribution. Complex networks, indeed, show the tendency for some nodes to become more interconnected than others (thus becoming "hubs"). In this, the understanding of network structure proposed in Castells (1996), contrary to the rhetoric considering networks intrinsically as "egalitarian," is still a conceptual and analytical tool of the utmost importance for understanding the so-called "platform society." This paper focuses on networks, network models, and the network society, reviewing what was proposed in Castells (1996). We argue that the social and platform ecosystem we are witnessing today can be understood from the perspective of scale-free networks and is, indeed, consistent with the premises provided in 1996. When observing networks, we address both structure and agency, and both the macro (network morphology) and micro (networked individualism and sociability) levels

Complex network · Contemporary society · Epistemology · Network society · Openness to experience · Rhetoric · Scale (ratio) · Social science · Sociology · World Wide Web · Complex Network Analysis Techniques · Computer Science · Digital Platforms and Economics · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI