Introduction and overview to the Research Handbook on Digital Sociology

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction and overview to the Research Handbook on Digital Sociology. It first discusses some programmatic aspects of digital sociology and, in accordance with some previous accounts, conceptualises digital sociology not as a sub-discipline but as an evolutionary trend in sociology as a discipline in motion. Sociology ‘becoming digital’ raises new sociological questions in relation to the digital turn but also seeks new opportunities for addressing classic sociological concerns in the context of the digital society. Likewise, digital sociology represents a forum for inter- and cross-disciplinary convergence - both in theory and methodology - in the study of the digital society. The chapter, second, introduces the structure of the handbook which is organised around five major themes of social theory in the digital age, researching the digital society, digital lives and online interaction, digital participation and inequality, and consequences of digital technological change. Third, to guide the reader through the book, this introductory chapter provides an overview to those themes and previews the various expert contributions in the book.

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