Society and communication from the perspective of Manuel Castells network society

Abstract

The Network Society is a way of understanding the world proposed by Manuel Castells for more than two decades. Based on this concept, the spanish author explains how the advent of digital technologies generated changes so profound that they impacted not only on production processes but on the way people live their daily lives. That is, according to Castells in this new context (2009, p. 154), individuals are rebuilding the model of social interaction with the help of new technological possibilities to create a new model of society: the network society. Thus, the concepts of society and communication take on a new meaning in this paradigm. For this reason, this article will analyze short stories, highlighting the way in which Castells conceives them and in turn relates them to other concepts (such as freedom and technology). Similarly, story concepts (society and communication) will be contrasted with the vision provided by Byung-Chul Han (with which the concept of society will be contrasted) and Marshall McLuhan (with whom the concept of communication will be contrasted).

In this way, the analysis proposed here will seek to contribute to understanding the broad implications contained in the concept of red society, not only from the vision of Manuel Castells, but also seeking comparison and contrast with other visions of the same concepts as other authors, in this case Han and McLuhan.