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Networks of Global Interaction

Although the correlation between the Internet and globalisation is well recognised, we know relatively little about the social impact of the networked world order. Based on research on Internet growth in developing countries, this article seeks to identify some of its most salient features and how these influence, and in turn are influenced by, the broader processes of modernisation and globalisation. Through a closer examination of the social and cultural embeddedness of the Internet, the article will discuss how the organisational principle of networks is becoming more prominent in contemporary society, leading to the rise of the networked society. Rather than representing a post-modern social form, the networked society reaffirms some of the most fundamental, and rather contradictory, aspects of modernity, especially the dual processes of globalisation and individualisation. Representing a new medium for communication and interaction, the Internet allows users to establish and maintain social relations on a global scale. Rather than erasing local identities, these 'glocal' interactions have a tendency to enforce a localised sense of belonging. Nonetheless, the boundary-crossing nature of networks also has a tendency to make existing boundaries rather fuzzy and subject to mediated redefinition and re-imagining. This article builds on some of the findings of my recently completed research on the social dynamics of Internet development in developing countries (Uimonen 2000).