Page 98 - Culture Technology Communication

Electronic Networks and Civil Society 83

growth in types of media and media products. Of course one cannot assume
from this need that the mass media are guaranteed to survive in their tra-
ditional form. Rather, a problem can be defined: if the mass media were to
be transformed into specialized media for insiders, this would mean that so-
ciety would lose the possibility of self-observation and description acceptable
to all areas and cultures of modern society.
3. This is one of the main reasons why people often complain about
the lack of order and orientation on the Internet.

References

Alexander, J. 1988. “The Mass News Media in Systemic, Historical and
Comparative Perspective.” In Action and First Environments: To-
wards a New Synthesis, ed. J. C. Alexander, 107–52. New York: Co-
lumbia University Press.
Aycock, A., and N. Buchignani. 1995. “The E-Mail Murders: Reflections on
‘Dead’ Letters.” In CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communication
and Community, ed. S. G. Jones, 184–232. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Baym, N. K. 1995. “The Emergence of Community in Computer-Mediated
Communication.” In CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communi-
cation and Community, ed. S. G. Jones, 138–63. Thousand Oaks:
Sage.
Becker, B., and G. Mark. 1999. “Constructing Social Systems Through
Computer-Mediated Communication.” Virtual Reality 4: 50–73.
Bourdieu, P. 1987. Die feinen Unterschiede. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp
Verlag.
Buchstein, H. 1996. “Cyberbürger und Demokratietheorie.” Deutsche
Zeitschrift für Philosophie 44: 583–607.
Cohen, J. L., and A. Arato. 1992. Civil Society and Political Theory. Cam-
bridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ess, Charles, ed. 1996. Philosophical Perspectives on Computer-Mediated
Communication. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Fassler, M. 1996. Mediale Interaktion: Speicher Individualität Öffent-
lichkeit. München: Fink.
Featherstone, F. 1990. “Global Culture: An Introduction.” Theory, Culture
and Society 7: 1–14.

Frankenberg, G. 1996. Die Verfassung der Republik: Autorität und Solidar-
ität in der Zivilgesellschaft. Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verlag.