>[!abstract] >The network society, a concept developed by sociologist Manuel Castells, describes the social structure emerging from the widespread use of information and communication technologies, particularly digital networks. In this paradigm, power, production, and culture are organized around flows of information rather than traditional hierarchies or geographic boundaries. Economic and social interactions become increasingly global, decentralized, and flexible, mediated by interconnected nodes—corporations, institutions, and individuals. Castells argues that this shift transforms identity, labor, and governance, producing new forms of inclusion and exclusion based on connectivity. The network society thus captures how digital networks reshape both social organization and the exercise of power in the information age. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Information society]] >- **West** (similar): [[Knowledge economy]] >- **East** (different): [[Industrial society]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Networked individualism]]