The Third Digital Divide

Drawing on the thought of Max Weber, this book engages with the question of whether the digital divide simply extends traditional forms of inequality, or whether it also includes new forms of social exclusion, or perhaps manifests counter-trends that alleviate traditional inequalities whilst constituting new modalities of inequality. With attention to the manner in which social stratification in the digital age is reproduced and transformed online, the author develops an account of stratification as it exists in the digital sphere, advancing the position that, just as in the social sphere, inequalities in the online world go beyond the economic elements of inequality.

Massimo Ragnedda (Ph.D), is a Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication at Northumbria University, Newcastle, where he conducts research on digital divide and social media. He has authored six books with some of publications appearing in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in English, Spanish and Italian.

List of figures List of tables Introduction Chapter 1. The evolution of the digital divide Chapter 2. Why does Weber still matter? Chapter 3. Digital stratification: Class, status group and parties in the age of the Internet Chapter 4. Life chances and the third level of digital divide Chapter 5. Concluding remarks and recommendations Index